Laura Meakin, 24, seen with her boyfriend Curtis Henderson, spotted the tip-toeing worker as she washed after a night on the town in the tourism hotspot of Gran Canaria
A holidaymaker discovered a security guard filming her while she showered, leading to a confrontation in which her boyfriend punched the pervert, knocking him out.
NHS worker Laura Meakin, 24, spotted the tip-toeing worker as she washed after a night out in the tourism hotspot of Gran Canaria.
Ms Meakin then rushed out to the walkway of their eighth floor room in Puerto Rico to confront the creep with her boyfriend Curtis Henderson, also 24.
But the man claimed he had only been having a cigarette – despite their out-of-the-way room location and a smoking ban at the Castillo de Sol complex.
Ms Meakin, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, explained how she first noticed a mobile phone poking through her hotel window.
She said: ‘We had come back from a night out at 3am. Curtis was laying on the bed, eating his kebab. I told him I was going to have a shower and wash my hair.
‘I got into the shower. The window into it opens into the bathroom. For some reason it was in my eye line, so I kept looking at it.
‘At one point I looked up, and I just saw a phone pointing in the window. I thought, “That’s weird”.
Ms Meakin, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, explained how she first noticed a mobile phone poking through her hotel window
‘So I got out, walked to the door and the security guard was standing outside, smoking.’
Ms Meakin, who fell victim to the voyeur a week into her fortnight-long break in June, continued: ‘I said, “I’ve just f*****g caught you filming me in the shower”.
‘He said “No, no, me smoking a cigarette”. I said, “You weren’t smoking a cigarette, you were filming me in the shower”.
‘I said it was forbidden to smoke, and asked him why he had come up to the top floor to smoke anyway.’
Mr Henderson then confronted the man, with the couple demanding he call the police – only for him to refuse.
Their confrontation escalated in the hotel lobby, where Mr Henderson hit the pervert, knocking him out.
She said: ‘I got into the shower. The window into it opens into the bathroom. For some reason it was in my eye line, so I kept looking at it’
This resulted in an appearance before a local court and 3,000 Euro (£2,788) fine.
Ms Meakin said of the June 16 incident: ‘Curtis went over and grabbed him. He said “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” and ran off.
‘Curtis ended up smacking him, and knocked him out.
‘He got taken to court for that, which resulted in him getting a big fine.’
She says if the hotel had simply called the police, Mr Henderson would never have responded so aggressively.
And the shell-shocked holidaymaker blasted local police for sending around 15 officers to arrest him.
She said they ignored her pleas to collar the security guard, who she also claimed deleted the incriminating footage from his phone.
They were forced to borrow money to pay the fine, and moved hotel on the Monday after the incident took place.
Ms Meakin claimed she was fobbed-off by local authorities when she attempted to report the crime again afterwards.
She also criticised holiday company Thomas Cook for their handling of the incident.
She claimed the company initially said the case was being investigated ‘at the highest level’ – only to be later asked by a staff member ‘What do you want us to do?’
She continued, describing the scene in the bathroom, pictured: ‘At one point I looked up, and I just saw a phone pointing in the window. I thought, “That’s weird”
The trauma of Ms Meakin’s ordeal saw her visit her GP when she arrived home, with the doctor signing her off with stress. Pictured: The window through which the pervert filmed
The trauma of Ms Meakin’s ordeal saw her visit her GP when she arrived home, with the doctor signing her off with stress.
She said: ‘The whole thing has been so stressful and upsetting. I’m disgusted with the way it has been handled.
‘I’m a victim, but I’ve been made to feel as if I’ve done something wrong.
‘I know Curtis shouldn’t have hit the bloke, and I’ve told him as much, but he was so angry, and most blokes would have done the same in his situation.’
A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said they believed no further complaints had been received about the security guard, adding: ‘We are speaking with the hotel.’