British tourist in Mallorca airport lost £1700 to elderly 'zimmerframe bandit'

A British woman travelling to the popular Spanish holiday destination Mallorca found herself £1700 out of pocket before she had even left the airport, after falling victim to an elderly thief using a walking frame.

The man, said to be in his 70s, allegedly targetted tourists as they arrived at Palma de Mallorca Airport to begin their holidays, including the British woman whose belongings were robbed in June. More than two million Brits visit Mallorca each year for the Balearic island's guaranteed sun, sea, and sand.

During the theft, airport security cameras caught a man with white hair, a loose shirt, and sneakers, using the seat of his walking frame to obscure his theft, before making a hasty escape, unnoticed due to his harmless appearance.

After using his walking aid to both move around the terminal and hide his purloined goods, the septuagenarian has gained notoriety in the local press and been dubbed the "zimmerframe bandit".

However, the alleged prolific thief's crime spree came to an end, a month later, August 18. The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports this followed an investigation spearheaded by Palma de Mallorca's private security team, who identified the man on CCTV footage.

After identifying similar thefts on the recordings, the airport worked with national Spanish police to track down the suspect, who was arrested in Palma in connection with the £1700 theft from a British tourist.

Spanish authorities have not confirmed how many other crimes the elderly thief is suspected of carrying out at the airport.

August has proved a busy month for arrests at the Mallorca's main travel hub, with 13 people detained for crimes ranging from using forged documents to theft and assault. Checks are also being conducted on passengers carrying over €4400 into the holiday destination.