A MAN has been arrested in Elche after brandishing a machete at a group of Dutch tourists to get some money from them.
The Spaniard, 41, approached the three tourists with the weapon and they handed over some cash.
He fled the scene and threw away the large knife in a nearby rubbish bin.
The shocked trio called the emergency 112 number and police arrived quickly at the scene.
The holidaymakers gave a description of the assailant including the clothes he was wearing, as well as pointing out the bin where he dumped the weapon.
A few minutes later, Policia Nacional and Elche Policia Local officers located the thief in an adjacent street.
The man told them that ‘I only asked for money and I was not going to do anything with the knife’.
He was then arrested on a charge of robbery with intimidation and then appeared before an Elche judge.
It’s not been revealed how much money or other items were taken from the Dutch tourists.
