British Tourists Hurt After Gun Attack at Spanish Nightclub

Holiday-makers were forced to dive for cover during a shooting incident at an upmarket Spanish nightclub early yesterday in which three people, two of them understood to be British, were injured.

Shots were fired as fighting broke out at the Nikki Beach disco, near Marbella, where guests included the British actress Jennifer Metcalfe from the soap opera Hollyoaks

A 42-year-old man received hospital treatment after being shot in both legs, while the extent of the injuries to the second victim remained unclear. A third was believed to have needed treatment for a cut hand.

One witness said: 'It was absolute pandemonium. People ran for their lives. Chairs and bottles were flying all over the place. Some people ran for cover as it all kicked off, and others just dropped to the ground and covered their heads as best they could to protect themselves.

'The minute they realized someone had been shot there was a mass surge for the door, as people tried to get out of the club as quickly as possible.'

It was the second shooting incident in 48 hours in the area. Last Thursday Peter Mitchell, 39, who has connections to the jailed Dublin gangland criminal John Gilligan, survived after being shot outside a bar on a complex in Puerto Banus, near Marbella. Two bystanders, including a 72-year-old Irishman, were also hit after a masked gunman burst into the bar and fired four shots before escaping in a white BMW.

Irish police believe the attempted murder of Mitchell is linked to threats against Gilligan inside Ireland's Portlaoise jail. Mitchell fled to Spain after the 1996 murder of the investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.