Joshua Parfitt

Joshua James Parfitt is the Costa Blanca correspondent for the Olive Press. He holds a gold-standard NCTJ in multimedia journalism from the award-winning News Associates in Twickenham. His work has been published in the Sunday Times, Esquire, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Sun on Sunday, the Mirror, among others. He has appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss devastating flooding in Spain, as well as making appearances on BBC and LBC radio stations. Contact me now: joshua@theolivepress.es or call +44 07960046259. Twitter: @jjparfitt

Javea’s first-ever Gay Pride parade declared a ‘huge success’ after British participants encounter only one old man ‘growling from a balcony’

THE first Gay Pride parade in the whole of the Marina Alta region of Alicante has been declared a ‘huge success’. A raucous samba band

22 Jul, 2019 @ 13:46

La Cultura·Lead

British expat launches cervical cancer awareness campaign after mum dies at just 41 on Spain’s Costa Blanca

SHARON Norrie tragically passed away last month at the untimely age of 41, from complications that began as cervical cancer. The well-loved commercial director of

22 Jul, 2019 @ 13:34

Costa Blanca·Health·Lead

YOU TOO?: Brit scammed by bogus Sky TV box distributor fears ‘many more’ could be affected on Spain’s Costa Blanca

A BRITISH expat claims he has been scammed by a Costa Blanca company offering bogus Sky TV boxes. Ray Gardner, who runs Moraira Plumbing, paid

22 Jul, 2019 @ 13:25

Costa Blanca·Crime & Law·Lead

Spain gives Morocco €30 million to curb irregular immigration as numbers drop 27% this year

SPAIN has agreed to give Morocco €30 million to curb illegal immigration to its shores. The cash is on top of €140 already pledged by

22 Jul, 2019 @ 13:18

Lead

Spain set for socialist-led government after Iglesias sidelined in PSOE-Podemos coalition deal

SPAIN is likely to install a socialist-led government this week following a coalition deal between the Socialist Workers’ (PSOE) party and anti-austerity Podemos. PSOE won

22 Jul, 2019 @ 12:47

Lead·Politics

REVEALED: Amy Winehouse wrote three songs from Back to Black while holidaying in Alicante

FEW knew that when the soulful, heart-wrenching vocals of Back to Black hit top-ten charts around the world in 2006, they would turn Amy Winehouse

21 Jul, 2019 @ 12:25

Costa Blanca·La Cultura·Lead

HE’S THE DADDY: Ex-lover of Spain’s Julio Iglesias speaks out after singer revealed as FATHER of her child

"Julio destroyed my dreams. I should’ve known what I was doing, but it's always the woman who has to pick up the pieces"

21 Jul, 2019 @ 11:51

Celebrity·Lead·National News

French couple, 80 and 66, injured after paddling pool crashes through terrace floor into garage below on Spain’s Costa Blanca

A FRENCH couple were injured in Mutxamel, Alicante, when their paddling pool broke through the terrace where they had set it up. The couple were

17 Jul, 2019 @ 18:12

Costa Blanca·Lead

OWN MEDICINE: Lawyer arrested in Murcia court after speeding to a trial on a traffic accident

A TARDY Murcia lawyer who sped to a trial was arrested in court by police agents testifying in the same case. The man, whose name

17 Jul, 2019 @ 12:39

Costa Blanca·Lead

Instagram sensation in northern Spain turns out to be TOXIC lake

A turquoise lake in Spain popular among Instagrammers has been revealed to be toxic and ‘dangerous’ to swimmers. Monte Neme, in northern Spain, appears to

17 Jul, 2019 @ 10:31

La Cultura·Lead

British holidaymaker, 23, could be ‘permanently paralysed’ after breaking neck on waterslide in Benidorm’s Aqualandia

A BRITISH holidaymaker’s life has changed forever after a horrific freak accident at Benidorm’s Aqualandia left him paralysed. David Briffaut, 23, was pulled semi-conscious from

17 Jul, 2019 @ 07:59

Costa Blanca·Lead

British companies accused of charging Spain-bound tourists for medical insurance already covered by EHIC cards

A TOTAL of 15 British companies have been accused of charging Spain-bound tourists for medical insurance already covered by the European Health Insurance Card. The

16 Jul, 2019 @ 15:00

Health·Lead

Residents on Costa Blanca mountainside who cut pine branches poking into their windows claim police turned up demanding they obtain ‘a permit’

RESIDENTS on a Costa Blanca mountainside who cut tree branches poking into their windows have claimed police turned up demanding they obtain ‘a permit’. The

16 Jul, 2019 @ 13:00

Environment·Lead

UK Pupils studying foreign languages fall by almost ‘20%’ in last five years as British Council report blames ‘Brexit’

PUPILS studying foreign languages have fallen by 19% in the last five years, according to the British Council. The latest Language Trends report blamed ‘Brexit’

16 Jul, 2019 @ 11:00

Lead

Coal use falls to ‘historic low’ of just 1.7% in Spain’s electricity mix

COAL power used for electricity generation on the Spanish mainland has fallen to ‘historic’ lows this year, contributing just 1.7% last May. The usage remained

16 Jul, 2019 @ 09:30

Environment·Lead

Alicante rapist jailed for 12 years after claiming asylum seeker, 26, could not report him because she was an ‘illegal immigrant’

A CONVICTED criminal has been sent back to prison for 12 years after raping an asylum seeker and claiming she couldn’t denounce him ‘because she

16 Jul, 2019 @ 03:38

Costa Blanca·Crime & Law·Lead

IN PICS: Forest fire escalates on Spain’s Costa Blanca as 45 people are evacuated

A FOREST fire raging on Spain’s Costa Blanca has seen 45 people evacuated from their homes. The fire was reported at 14:30 today in Beneixama,

15 Jul, 2019 @ 20:04

Costa Blanca·Lead

Driver confuses Barcelona’s ‘busiest’ Metro entrance with car park and goes bumper-first down staircase

A DRIVER has sent her car bumper-first down the entrance to Barcelona’s ‘busiest’ Metro entrance after she confused it with a car park. The car

15 Jul, 2019 @ 18:17

Lead

Woman killed after firework ‘shot into her mouth’ and exploded at Spanish festival

A 56-year-old woman has died after an out-of-control firework shot into her mouth and exploded at a festival in Spain. The man, 51, who lit

15 Jul, 2019 @ 18:06

Lead

British man, 46, arrested after stabbing 20-year-old at 11AM in a bar in Alfaz del Pi on the Costa Blanca

A BRITISH man, 46, has been detained after stabbing a 20-year-old at 11am in a bar in Alfaz del Pi. The men, both British, were

15 Jul, 2019 @ 17:45

Costa Blanca·Crime & Law·Lead

THIRTEEN air units battle forest fire in Beneixama on Spain’s Costa Blanca as ‘Level 2 emergency’ is declared

A LEVEL 2 emergency situation has been declared as 13 airborne units battle a raging forest fire in Beneixama on Spain’s Costa Blanca. The emergency

15 Jul, 2019 @ 17:23

Costa Blanca·Lead

British carers given four years in jail for defrauding elderly couple of €270,000 in Alicante – but will KEEP €100,000 of stolen cash

A BRITISH couple who were caring for an elderly pair have been given four years in jail after an Alicante court found they had ‘fraudulently’

15 Jul, 2019 @ 17:00

Costa Blanca·Crime & Law·Lead

Two men using fake €500 notes ‘so good they were undetectable by machines’ caught after blowing 15 of them in an Alicante casino

TWO men have been arrested in Alicante for using fake €500 bank notes so good they were ‘undetectable by machines’. The sting came after the

15 Jul, 2019 @ 12:00

Costa Blanca·Crime & Law·Lead

WATCH: Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne speaks to the Olive Press about how public speaking has given him his ‘football buzz’ back

14 Jul, 2019 @ 18:38

Costa Blanca·Lead·Sport

‘Record-breaking’ bites from blood-sucking black fly as region sprays 5,000 litres of insecticide near Spain’s Costa Blanca

A SUMMER of ‘plagues’ has been predicted by a leading Spanish pest-control association as the country sees record-breaking bites from the ‘blood-sucking black fly‘. Spain’s

12 Jul, 2019 @ 16:41

Costa Blanca·Lead