A COUPLE endured a holiday from hell after an argument over a restaurant bill saw them thrown in a Spanish jail and handed a hefty fine.
Retired hosiery salesman Geoff Cox and his girlfriend Bridget Keyes found themselves in trouble when a waiter at a restaurant in Granada called the police after they refused to pay 15 Euros for a dish they claimed they had not ordered. After a further altercation, police officers arrested the couple and later claimed they had been assaulted and demanded compensation.
Mr Cox, of Broad Lane, Newdigate, said until the "horrific" incident on May 17, they had been enjoying a cycling tour from Cordoba to Granada with two friends.
He added the group had enjoyed their meal at the restaurant but were unhappy when they received the bill which listed two paellas instead of one.
Mr Cox told the Advertiser: "We pointed this out and he went off like a firecracker and a row ensued.
"We put down 105 Euros and said we would pay that, but he wanted 120 Euros.
"It got a bit ugly and when he said he would call the police we said, 'Right, fine', because we were certain they would side with us."
The couple were fingerprinted, had their shoelaces confiscated and put in separate cells for the night after being arrested.
Mr Cox continued: "Two lawyers and a translator turned up 12 hours later – we had had no information, no food and no water.
"I was told I was charged with assault on the police, resisting arrest and defrauding a restaurant, that these were criminal charges and I could get a year in jail. Plus we were told the police had filed for damages against us."
After another seven hours, the couple were transferred to court and told the criminal charges were dropped but the damages claim remained and they should return to court two days later.
"That messed up our holiday plans as we were off to Seville," said Mr Cox. "We came back to Granada at a cost of 200 Euros to have our day in court.
"We still didn't know what was happening. The prosecution demanded fines of 360 Euros each, plus 260 Euros damages to the police.
"In the end we were fined 78 Euros, and 250 Euros damages for me throwing my face against his fist."
With 400 Euros for the lawyer, plus outlay for extra travel and broken glasses, the couple were left severely out of pocket.
Mr Cox added: "I'm an ordinary, middle class, respectable citizen who has never had any trouble with the police.
"It's a bloody outrage and we must still make sure our fine gets paid to the right place.
"If it gets lost in the system we could find ourselves facing a European extradition warrant, so I'm still worried about it."
