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By Humphrey Carter

THOMAS Swannell, the 45-year-old travelling cricket fan arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning after 41-year-old City financier Gary Vigors from Essex died after his throat was slashed with a broken bottle after a brawl in a bar in Magalluf, was being held on remand in Palma prison last night.

Yesterday afternoon, the 45-year-old appeared before a preliminary hearing in Palma and the judge ordered that he be held on remand in prison and a plea for bail was denied.

Swannell was part of a group of about 50 travelling fans of Finedon Dolben Cricket Club, the reigning Northants Cricket League champions, who were due to have played two tour matches against Mallorca Cricket Club over the weekend. The games were cancelled.

The dead man was not involved with the tour or connected with the club, he was apparently enjoying a holiday on the island.
The incident has shocked Calvia and yesterday ACOTUR, the Majorcan Association of Tourist Businesses called on the Mayor of Calvia, Carlos Delgado, to tighten up security in the Punta Ballena area of Magalluf.

ACOTUR condemned Saturday's tragic incident and also the fact that it took an ambulance nearly 30 minutes to reach the scene. “The culmination of events do little to help Calvia's image as a tourist destination,” ACOTUR said in an official statement. The association also slammed the Mayor's attitude to safety and security in the resort. Only last month, a shopkeeper was attacked by a gang of 15 teenagers just metres away from where the 41-year-old died in the early hours of Saturday morning. The teenage attack promoted ACOTUR to call on Delgado to boost policing on February 21, “but he's done absolutely nothing,” ACOTUR said yesterday. “A greater police presence in key areas would reduce the number of incidents and could have quite possibly prevented last Saturday's tragedy,” the association stated.

ACOTUR maintains that a tourist destination as important as Calvia must have adequate policing and emergency services capable of responding rapidly all year round, and not only during the busy summer months.

Vigors leaves behind a partner of 13 years Sarah Fulton and their two-year-old daughter Nicole Vigors. His mother Pat Vigors, who is a Parish Council clerk, told local newspapers in the UK: “He was a very popular local figure with many friends, and a devoted family man. He was a well loved partner, father, son, brother and uncle, and this loss has devastated our family. Gary was an avid fisherman, a keen darts player, and lifelong Ipswich Football Club fan,” she said yesterday as tributes flooded in.