British expats' Spain retirement disaster as they're forced to 'live in field' in Benidorm

Two Brits have revealed how their plans to retire to Spain unravelled to such an extent they ended up homeless and living “in a field”. Now, they’ve little choice but to “semi-squat” in the garden of a derelict property.

Grandmother Paula Briers, 52, and her husband Rob Briers, 60, moved to Benidorm in 2020, after their plans to relocate to the city of Granada fell through due to the first Covid lockdown.

The couple, who both left their jobs at the giant Coalville Amazon warehouse for a life in the sun, found a plot for their caravans in Benidorm’s Villamar campsite.

When they arrived at Villamar, animal fosterer Paula discovered the site was crawling with feral cats “that needed help” and agreed to find suitable homes for as many of them as possible.

“I’ve always loved animals”, the mum-of-six told the Express. “In the UK I did fostering and things.

“In Villamar we just said ‘look, we’ll help you out, sort out the cats’ and we had a little table on our plot where people used to come and give donations and things.”

Paula, who is originally from Bournemouth, claimed that she and her husband, who is from Leicester, managed to get the cat population down dramatically but were then evicted from the campsite.

“We got the cats down from over 1,000 to about 200,” she said. “And we had people looking after the cats that were feral so they had somewhere to eat and [someone to] keep an eye on their health.

“And then we got them down to a manageable number.”

After being asked to leave the campsite, the couple “bounced around a bit”, and ended up sleeping rough.

It was there that the couple were found by British musician and charity boss Johnny Elraiz, better known by his stage name Jonny Hellraizer, who helped them get back on their feet.

Paula added: “He found us, I think in October two years ago. We were in a field.

“After we got kicked off the Villamar we literally slept in a field… behind a bush.

“Obviously we didn’t know Jonny then. In fact we knew him as an entertainer. We didn’t really know what he did. And he just came and found us and then from there he started bringing us food and that.”

With the help of Mr Elraiz, who is originally from Croydon, the couple were able to find somewhere better to live, albeit it’s far from a conventional living arrangement.

Along with four boisterous dogs and countless cats, the couple live in an outhouse of a derelict property. But that’s only in the summer. When winter comes around they stay in a caravan in the derelict property’s garden.

They told Express.co.uk that they pay the landlady €150 (£126) to stay on the property, and in exchange they tend to the garden. Paula said that prior to their arrival the majority of the space was so overgrown with cacti it was inaccessible.

“We’re hoping to stay here because the landlady’s lovely”, she said. “And obviously she’s pleased that she’s got a garden now, not just a jungle.”

Despite not realising the Spanish retirement of their dreams, Paula and Rob were sanguine about their situation.

“There’s always somebody worse off than us. You know, I stay positive. There’s a lot of people out there who are a damn sight worse off than us.”

They added that without the help of Mr Elraiz, who plays guitar and sings for Benidorm metal band White Coast Rebels, their predicament would be far worse.

Paula said: “He is very important. You know if it wasn’t for him… people would die because there’s just not anything to help people.

“Jonny does a lot for a lot of people. Not just us, he helps people get showers and everything so it’s invaluable to the community - it really is.

“And people who are on the streets, they need food. They can’t just go into a restaurant and say ‘I’m starving’.”

Paula and Rob are the not the only Brits that have got a helping hand from Mr Elraiz.

En route to picking up food parcels for destitute members of the community, the long-haired performer told the Express that his charity, City Streets Community Project, provides food for between 60 and 70 residents, including "semi-squatters" Paula and Rob.

“Daily, we’ve been feeding around 60 to 70 people”, he said. Of those “around 15” are British.

However, over the last four years, he’s assisted “well over 100” Brits in Benidorm.

Mr Elraiz told this website that down-on-their-luck Brits will buy a £15 plane ticket to get to Benidorm but some don’t have a place to stay or any work lined up.

He said: “They think ‘I’ll be able to get a cheap room or something… I’ll get a job, it’ll be easy to find a place to live’. But there aren’t enough properties.”

Express.co.uk approached Camping Villamar for comment.