British female tourists in Ibiza warned they are 'rape targets'

British holiday girls in Ibiza have been warned not to walk home alone - as they have become rape targets on the party island.

British consulate officials even put up signs warning girls to stay with their friends or "it could cost you your life".

It is believed British girls are under threat after being viewed as "easy" and "big drinkers" by locals.

But the campaign reportedly caused a backlash by town hall chiefs who ditched it over complaints it gave the island a bad reputation.

Will Middleton, British consular director for Spain, insists the danger to tourists is real.

According to The Sun, he said: "We continue to believe there are potential risks to a small minority of British tourists about which they should be aware.

"Unfortunately, while the vast majority of holidays are trouble-free, these types of incidents have happened to a small minority of British tourists in the past."

And first-hand reports of sexual assaults are emerging from the island, where 700,000 Brits visit each year.

According to the Malaysia Chronicle, one unnamed British woman said: "A guy came up from behind me and he grabbed me around the waist so I could hardly move.

"He said, 'I'm going to have you'. I managed to headbutt him and he stumbled and I ran off."

And 21-year-old rep Marco Gambino said he stepped in after witnessing an assault: "I noticed some guy on the beach with a girl having sex. She was naked and kept falling over.

"Then I saw another man start having sex with her. There was something sinister about it. We rushed over and told them to stop.

"The girl didn't even know her name. I was disgusted. Another passer-by had seen and called police."

The Foreign Office revealed last week that 568 Brits were raped or sexually assaulted while abroad in the last two years. And that is only the crimes that were actually reported.

There were 110 British victims of sex attacks in Spain in the last two years, with 43% of those being in the Balearic islands.

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