My husband and I have just returned today from Malta after two weeks of a most enjoyable holiday with some Maltese friends. We love the people of the Maltese Islands and have visited for over 20 years but I'm afraid that after our last encounter with the timeshare touts we may never return unless the government does something about their pressure tactics.

We were enjoying our last day walking around Qawra when we were approached by one of these touts. We have got used to the usual "are you British?" and "where in the UK are you from?" lines and no matter where we say we are from they have always either lived there or their auntie lived there. We told him that we were going home that day but he still gave us the "lucky scratchcards" to try and lo and behold I won the top prize. My husband won a bottle of wine that suddenly increased to three bottles if we went to see the timeshare development.

As we were being given the usual rhetoric a gentleman in an apartment above us said "here we go again" and upon hearing this the tout suddenly changed into a devil (06-06-06?). He launched into a tirade of abuse that I have never heard before. Every profanity imaginable was used including threats of personal harm to this person and his property. "I know where you live and you had better watch your back mate." We just stood there open mouthed with shock at this man as he swore and verbally abused the man in the apartment. There were people in the street and in other apartments that saw all this going on and couldn't believe what they were hearing.

I am British and proud to be so but when someone behaves like that from your own country it makes me sick. No wonder we get a bad name abroad from the local people.

I made a report to the Malta Tourism Authority and I hope that this person will be on the first plane home because Malta doesn't need people like that there. Not all touts are like this person but it is no wonder they are tarred with the same brush if events like this get reported.

These people must be regulated and checked regularly if Malta wants tourists to return time after time. I love it there but I'm afraid that my next visit will not be for a very long time thanks to some idiot that has no morals. A very sad day for me and all my lovely Maltese friends.