Mum 'brutally' stomped on by Benidorm bouncer in 'unprovoked attack' on girls' trip

A mum says she was "brutally attacked" by a bouncer who allegedly shoved and stamped on her at a. Charlotte Benson, 31, claims she was assaulted by the doorman at The Red Lion in the Spanish tourist city of .

The mum-of-one said she was pushed across the dancefloor of the bar, stomped on and 'thrown' three times, on March 28. Charlotte, from Shropshire, who was on a, believes the unprovoked attack may have been a case of mistaken identity. She said she was left with internal and external bruising and a concussion.

She is speaking out to raise awareness for Brits travelling abroad after finding the lack of support by the Spanish police '"appalling". Charlotte said: "I thought it was game over and he was just going to beat me to near death. I'm just full of anger, shock and severe anxiety.

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"I never want to leave my house again and I'm going to forever be looking over my shoulder. When you hear stories like this your head naturally goes to a place of 'This person was doing something they shouldn't have been doing'.

"You could be anybody not doing anything - stood in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not a case of somebody being stupid. It was a completely unprovoked attack." Charlotte had travelled to Benidorm with five work colleagues after finding it cheaper than a night out in the UK.

The group booked flights and an apartment to travel on Friday March 28 and return Sunday March 30. The holiday began well with a walk and a couple of drinks on the beach, as Charlotte described "just a group of girls chatting and having cocktails".

After returning to their apartment to freshen up and get dressed for the evening, the group had a meal at a curry house before popping into a bar for one drink. Charlotte said: "We then walked past The Red Lion and there was an atmosphere in there so we went in.

"They were playing old school dance music which was more our era. We got a spot on the edge of the dancefloor and had one round of drinks and one Jägerbomb each - on a full stomach.

"We weren't really drunk or paralytic. We kept very much to ourselves, just dancing, giggling and having a good time." After finishing her drink, Charlotte nipped to the toilet and said "that's where it all went a bit wrong". She said: "I was just about to walk onto the dancefloor and I felt this almighty push.

"I ended up in a heap on the floor metres away from where originally I was, hitting my head hard. This thug then booted my legs, my stomach, ribs and face and stomped on me repeatedly whilst I was down curled up in the fetal position.

"When I managed to stand up and turn around, I'm met with this six-foot-plus meathead. I was in a state of shock and I said to him 'What have I done?' and he screamed in my face 'Get the fuck out'.

"As I stood up again this guy picked me up and throws me on the floor for a third time. I don't really remember how I then got out of the bar as it was blurry but a lovely and very brave guy helped me get out of there. The look in this bouncer's eyes - I can't even describe. His eyes were like moons.

"He was evil and clearly on something. There was no way of defusing that situation - there was no way out of it." Charlotte and her friends managed to get back to their apartment where they phoned the paramedics and the police. Charlotte said the police were 'disgraceful' and 'no help at all'. She was directed to file a report the following day.

She said: "The paramedics refused to take me to the hospital. The woman paramedic rolled her eyes at me and said in broken English 'What did you do to deserve this?'" Charlotte was taken to a private hospital where she was told she had internal and external bruising.

The following day (March 29), she discovered the police station was closed over the weekend and ended up filing the report in the airport's police station on her way back. She said: "That was a complete let down too. I don't expect them to understand English in a Spanish country but the attitude was poor.

"I cannot fathom why a police station would be closed on a weekend when you have your stags, hens and birthday parties there. I lost 100 euros from my bag that night and even though I wanted to report the assault, they were giving me forms about robbery instead. It's not about the money."

Charlotte wants to raise awareness about The Red Lion following others coming forward since she posted her ordeal on . She said the bar has blocked her on Facebook, she says. Charlotte said: "There is no support for you over there.

"I was seen as a pissed up Brit causing trouble and I am not one of them. I will never step foot in Benidorm or Spain again. The issue is if nobody ever says anything then nothing will change. This is not an isolated incident. People will say I've been there and never had any trouble - I'd been there eight years ago and not had trouble.

"That doesn't mean it won't happen again. Tourists need to be aware of the danger and the lack of support." The pub did not respond to a request for comment.

But in a comment posted to their Facebook page, the Red Lion said: "Every busy club has there (sic) own problems most of them can be solved without any harm. Sometimes because of the circumstances or the people it does get rough just like in any other nightclub of the . Measures in Benidorm are like no where else and not here or anywhere (sic) does security hit for no reason there's always 2sides to every story."