Costa Blanca mayor accused of punching elderly resident after long-standing feud amidst calls for him to resign

A WAR of words has broken out over an alleged assault by Dolores mayor, Joaquin Hernandez on a 71-year-old resident as political opponents demanded that he quit.

Both parties have accused each other of starting the physical altercation in the Vega Baja town on August 9.

PSOE mayor Hernandez told a news conference last week that he ‘categorically’ did not assault Jose Maria Argiles.

The two men have known each other for years via a family friendship.

“We traded insults, but I never hit, nor will I hit him,” said 53-year-old Hernandez.

Both men have filed complaints with the Guardia Civil and it seems very likely that a judge will have sort out the truth of the matter.

A police report states that Argiles suffered “several lacerations with blood on his arms’ but added that he bleeds easily due to a skin condition.

Jose Maria Argiles said the mayor ‘grabbed me by the armpits and threw me to the ground’.

“He was very aggressive and people had to separate us,” he added.

Mayor Hernandez said that he had ‘suffered threats and insults from Argiles for 10 years and that this incident is ‘going to be used to politically harm me’.

Jose Manuel Guerro of the opposition PP, described the mayor’s behaviour as ‘inappropriate’ demanded his resignation from all public positions and to be disciplined.