Elite troops sent to Costa del Sol claim dismissed as fake

THE UK is NOT sending hundreds of ex-Special Forces troops to the Costa del Sol and other Spanish holiday hotspots this summer.

Reports in the UK media this week suggested that SAS-trained guards were being rushed to Spain in order to combat fears over a terror attack on British holidaymakers.

They were set to patrol beaches disguised as tourists, and sources were quoted as saying that the country had been “singled out” by Islamic militant groups.

However the reaction in Spain suggests this is not the case, after the story failed to be picked up by any Spanish-language media that this newspaper has seen.

No official at any of the local tourist boards we spoke to was able to provide information about the supposed scheme, nor were they aware of it.

A local private security firm said: “This is complete nonsense, perhaps one or two serving counter terror operators have been sent as police liaison, but no way has a group of 100 private security been deployed to Spanish soil.

“We know of no-one in the industry that has any information on this story, no ex-Special Forces we know have been approached and no private companies have been tasked.”