Drug pushers on every corner, baton-wielding cops and revellers passed out on the ground.
Welcome to Albufeira, the once family-focused resort in Portugal’s Algarve region facing an exodus unless it cracks down on excessive partying.
Brits have already vowed to ‘never return’ after seeing a ‘dramatic change’ over the past couple of years.
They claim a surge in hen and stag dos has created a party mecca that has brought more violence, drugs and loutish behaviour.
In response to a series of incidents – including Brits exposing their genitals in public – the local government is bringing in new laws for tourists in July.
Albufeira was in the spotlight this week after the body of Scotsman Greg Monks, 38, was found in a ravine – some eight days after he vanished from the strip during a pal’s stag do.
‘He’s another victim of the strip,’ one local hotel worker told MailOnline this week.
‘It encourages heavy drinking and drugs are too easily available, it’s easy to lose control.
Albufeira was a once family-focused resort in Portugal’s Algarve region but it is now home to excessive partying
People have claimed a surge in hen and stag dos has created a party mecca that has brought more violence, drugs and loutish behaviour
Brits have already vowed to ‘never return’ to Albufeira after seeing a ‘dramatic change’ over the past couple of years
‘Brits come on stag dos and buy drugs straight away, and have no idea what they are cut with, there are some really dangerous people here.’
There is no suggestion that Greg had taken drugs on the night he disappeared.
The worker, who asked not to be named over fear of reprisals, said he believes he may have seen Greg walking alone shortly before 2am on the night he vanished.
‘He seemed really intoxicated and was carrying a traffic sign,’ he recalled, ‘I was scared to approach him but now I feel really bad, because if it was him I could have helped.’
The local said he informed Greg’s family of what he saw when he came across the missing person’s report.
Another hotel worker, Tadeu, told MailOnline: ‘I’m so tired of the tourists who come here, they behave like mental asylum escapees, it’s dangerous.
‘They walk around like they own the place and with an air of entitlement.’
Tadeu’s hotel has tried to take matters into its own hands by creating a ‘behaviour booklet’ for its guests, which tells them how to be a ‘good’ visitor – including being properly dressed, respecting the area and not drinking to excess.
Greg Monks, 38, (pictured with his girlfriend) was found dead in a ravine – some eight days after he vanished from the strip during a pal’s stag do
Albufeira in Portugal is a popular spot for hen and stag dos
Police keep a watchful eye on the party strip in Albufeira in Portgual
Picture shows a board advertising alcohol in Albufeira this week
He said there was an incident last year that ‘shocked’ the country and made national news.
He recalled: ‘Some English guys got on top of a table completely naked and exposed themselves while shouting chants, it was awful, they have no respect.
‘I’ve decided to move to another city later this year, I just don’t feel very safe, it’s not a nice place to live at times.’
Eight British tourists were identified by the GNR after footage of them crawling on a bar top fully naked and in broad daylight went viral last June.
It sparked outcry from Albufeira mayor Jose Carlos Rolo, who said at the time: ‘It doesn’t make sense for us to have a strategy and spend money on promotion only to have these deeply negative incidents that dignify no one.’
The case was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office but it remains unclear what further action was taken.
Tadeu accused the authorities of not doing enough to tackle the bad behaviour. He showed MailOnline photos of his friend who was beaten to a pulp on the strip last summer.
He said: ‘He bumped into an Irish guy by accident and he and his group of six mates just started beating him up, he had to go to hospital, but the tourists were never found or arrested. We have not stepped foot on the strip since.’
MailOnline visited both the Old Town and the infamous party strip this Tuesday.
Emergency services are seen in Albufeira on a night this week
Tributes poured in for the plant mechanic, who was described as an ‘amazing guy’
These were the first pictures of the scrub-land where Greg Monks’ body was found on the Algarve after a week-long search
The former has traditionally been a more ‘chilled’ environment for families. But this week, it was filled with partying crowds, stag dos and hen parties, with some streets completely blocked off by dancing revellers – and with music still blasting after 3am, despite it being the one of the quietest days of the week.
The infamous party strip on Avenida Francisco Sa Carneiro is around an eight-minute drive eastwards from the Old Town.
On the night MailOnline visited, misbehaving Brits were seen being chased and dragged away by police and passing out on the ground.
Cocaine was offered at least four times by brazen street sellers.
Towards the end of the night, our cameraman was also assaulted by two Scottish revellers.
Multiple teams of Red Cross staff were seen patrolling the strip in the event of injury, either by violence or intoxication.
One paramedic warned: ‘This is nothing compared to the weekends, and in a few weeks it will be on another level.’
It comes as forums dedicated to ‘wild’ videos from Albufeira are growing in popularity online.
A video shared in May shows multiple GNR officers whacking British tourists with batons.
Albufeira in Portugal’s Algarve region is facing an exodus unless it cracks down on excessive partying
This is the last known photo of Mr Monks, a plant mechanic from Glasgow, who was last seen in the early hours of May 28 during the first night out of a five-day stag do
CCTV footage showing the 38-year-old jumping over a wall after a night out with his stag-do friends had enabled police to narrow down his last movements to this area
Holidaymakers are later seen running away from officers while being chased through the resort’s cobbled streets.
Elsewhere, visitors are seen passed out drunk on the ground and gyrating against monuments.
Briton Carp Breck commented on one clip: ‘I’d rather go to Benidorm… place is a disgrace and gone dirty and not nice anymore!’
Stuart Coppell added: ‘Sadly it’s not the place it was when we started coming there 15 years ago.’
Another photo shared on a forum showed a tourist pulling out his penis in the middle of the street.
Cheryl Dockerty commented: ‘It’s getting like Magaluf, but that’s what happens when they try and clean up a place, these idiots just go elsewhere and cause mayhem.’
Doreen Burywood said: ‘We used to go every year, loved the place, but stopped when the hen and stag parties started arriving, such a shame.’
Karen Yeadon said: ‘We’ve been coming here for the past 10 years, definitely felt a difference these past two years.
‘Here again this year, but told hubby I don’t want to come next year. I used to feel safe here, now it is a different story, so so sad.’
In a bid to crackdown on bad behaviour, Albufeira is set to bring in new rules this summer.
The highly-anticipated ‘code of conduct’ will include fines for not dressing properly in public areas, public nudity or sex acts, and for camping in unauthorised areas.
The code of conduct – which will issue sanctions of up to €1,800 – will go through a final vote at the municipal level on June 30 before becoming official.
Albufeira mayor Jose Carlos Rolo hopes it will be in effect by mid-July of this year.
MailOnline has contacted Albufeira City Council for comment.
