A FAMILY of Scottish tourists has been robbed after gas was pumped into their luxury holiday villa in Spain.

Robbers used anaesthetic gas, according to the family, to knock out the group of six, including two children, before making off with about GBP7000 worth of cash and other valuables including jewellery, cameras, and a Sony Playstation.

The raiders lifted up fish merchant Paul Duff, 34, from Aberdeen, as he lay unconscious to enable them to steal his wallet.

Last night he spoke of the family's ordeal as police in southern Spain continued their investigations into the incident.

The raid occurred last month while Mr Duff, his wife Pauline, 33, and the couple's two children, Hayden, nine, and Symone, six, were staying at a friend's villa in Camposol, near Murcia, on the Costa Blanca.

They were joined on the holiday by Mrs Duff's sister, Jackie Humphrey, 32, a legal assistant, and her fiance, Mike Ogston, 34, an oil worker.

Mr Duff explained that the group had been out for a meal on the night of the raid to celebrate his, and his sister-inlaw's birthday but returned at about 10pm.

The adults had a bottle of beer on their return after putting the children to bed but went to bed themselves about 11pm.

Mr Duff, who normally starts work at about 5.30am, was up first the following morning.

He said: "I thought it was strange that I'd slept until around 10.15am. I don't think I've slept that long in my entire life.

"I could see the front door was open and as I got closer to the door I noticed my jeans lying on the doorstep. My wallet was on top of them. My cards were inside but all my money was gone.

"When I went to bed I'd been lying on top of the covers with my legs across my jeans. Whoever broke in must have come into the bedroom and lifted my legs to get my jeans and rifle my wallet."

He then realised the villa had been ransacked. His wife and sister-in-law were complaining of a stinging head, dry eyes, and a sore throat and the children were crying.

Mr Duff said neighbours, on learning of the break-in, said they could have been victims of robbers who fed some kind of sleeping gas into the villa's airconditioning system.

Mr Duff and Mr Ogston drove to the Guardia Civil in Puerto de Mazarron with an interpreter where they reported the break-in which occurred six weeks ago.

Last night Mr Duff said he had not heard from police since.

He added: "We go abroad a lot on holiday and have never had anything like this happen to us. We won't be going back to Camposol in a hurry. In total we were robbed of about GBP7000 worth of cash and goods. In some ways we are fortunate. There was the potential there for things to turn out a lot worse."

The Guardia Civil in Puerto de Mazarron yesterday said investigations into the incident on July 11 were continuing.