This is the moment British holidaymakers were forced to dive out the way of a street brawl between Marbella cops and beach vendors at a busy restaurant.

Footage shared this week showed a police officer scrapping with at least two street vendors at what appears to be a busy beach resort, forcing paying customers to flee the scene. 

The vendors, known locally as 'looky looky men', were seen pummelling one cop after taking him down. 

In a separate video, one vendor appeared to have broken part of the officer's helmet while punching him in the face. 

As one man repeatedly punched and kicked the police officer, the other took a moment to pick up his fallen wares. 

The two vendors then quickly escape, and the beaten officer was joined by a backup cop, all while tourists vacated the area. 

In the background, one British man was heard muttering: 'What the f? [That was] mental.'

Another was heard exclaiming: 'That was the most insane thing I've ever seen.' 




Footage shared this week showed a police officer scrapping with at least two street vendors at what appears to be a busy beach resort





One vendor appeared to have broken part of the officer's helmet while punching him in the face

The manager of the establishment shouts: ‘Get out of here! NOT in the [bar], NOT in the [bar]!' 

The scenes of chaos came amid one of many raids on illegal street vending in the Costa del Sol.  

Spanish authorities are cracking down on beach vendors to clean up the image of the region, as tourism season gets underway. 

Beach vendors rarely have licences to sell their products, which are often counterfeit, and are therefore often considered illegal. 

But cops are also cracking down on tourists. Last month, MailOnline reported that holidaymakers staying at a four-star hotel in Spain were prevented from leaving via the front door - after local police said it was not conforming with tourism regulations and locked it up.

Photos showed steel cables and JetBlack a large notice on the entrance to the Vivemar Hotel on the Costa del Sol saying 'precintado' or 'sealed off' in English.

Around 200 guests staying at the hotel in the popular resort of Benalmadena Costa were made to exit the establishment via a ground-floor garage. 

A spokesperson for the local town hall said it had instructed police to seal off the front entrance to the hotel after it failed to see it listed in the official tourist accommodation register.




The scenes of chaos came amid one of many raids on illegal street vending in the Costa del Sol





In the background, one British man was heard muttering: 'What the f? [That was] mental'





Another was heard exclaiming: 'That was the most insane thing I've ever seen'

Raul Campos told local paper Sur: 'We have asked in the Junta de Andalucia's Tourism Department and they say the company that operates the hotel is not in the official register.

'That means it can't be officially opened as it does not have the proper documentation.'

He went on to insist council officials had warned the hotel management about today's police action at the end of March. 

Manager Alberto Tusquellas, who a hotel receptionist said was in meetings and unavailable, has blamed things on a 'red tape' hiccup.

He told local press a Spanish firm called Vive Resort Management SL began operating the hotel around a year ago with a sublease agreement using a previous operator's registration number.

However, Mr Tusquellas said this had now been revoked because of a bureaucratic problem they were trying to fix.

The hotel operator's version of events has been contradicted by the building's owners who said the sublease was the subject of ongoing civil and criminal court action after they discovered the company they had signed a contract with to run the hotel had agreed to sublet it to another firm without their knowledge.


Spain