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John Brownwood is getting ready to go to sleep for the night, finishing the chapter of the book he’s reading and repositioning his pillow for heightened comfort.

The only unusual aspect of this otherwise mundane routine is that the 69-year-old retiree is not at home in bed but on a bench in the departure lounge of Malaga’s Pablo Picasso airport.

Brownwood – a former semi-professional footballer with League Two club Fleetwood – is a member of the so-called ‘zombies’ who live full time in the airports of Spain.

The bizarre phenomenon whereby hundreds of homeless people make their home 24/7 in Iberian airport lounges became international news this week after extraordinary pictures revealed its shocking extent.

Now a MailOnline investigation has discovered that expats like John Brownwood are among the ‘zombies’ – and that many of them are there as a consequence of the craze for Airbnb rentals which has gripped many Spanish property owners.

Those with properties in or near hotspots like Marbella, Torremolinos or Benalmadena have found that, instead of offering traditional 12-month contracts to tenants, they can make more money simply by letting at much higher rates for 3-4 months a year to holidaymakers.

So people like John who once could afford to rent year round are now priced out of their accommodation during the summer – and instead choose to live for free in airports.

We sat down to interview John where he had set up for the afternoon just yards from the duty free shops and designer label stores in the lounge where has has been living ‘on and off’ for the last 15 years since quitting Britain.

John Brownwood (pictured) lives in an airport full time. The 69-year-old retiree is a former semi-professional footballer with League Two club Fleetwood

John is one of 15 Brits who are members of a group called the so-called ‘zombies’- a band of 50 people who call Spain’s airports home

The bizarre phenomenon whereby hundreds of homeless people make their home 24/7 in Iberian airport lounges made headlines this week after extraordinary pictures emerged

A MailOnline investigation has discovered that many of the 'zombies' - are living in airports as as a consequence of the craze for Airbnb rentals which has gripped many Spanish property owners

John passes the time by sitting and reading a book or eating a sandwich he has been given. Here he is pictured walking away from the camera pushing trollies carrying his possesions

He is one of a band of some 50 people – around 15 of whom are thought to be British – living rough in the terminal of the Costa del Sol terminal which is used by more than 22 million people each year.

It’s a strange retirement for a man who was once a hero in his Lancashire hometown as the striker for the town’s football club – who are now in League Two but were then non-league.

In 1980 he played in the first ever Fylde Coast derby, when Fleetwood met local professional rivals Blackpool in the FA Cup first round and lost 4-0 – and he readily recognised himself when shown a picture of the lineup from the Blackpool Gazette.

The black and white picture shows him sitting with his teammates, his hair still as long and the moustache there today but both markedly greyer, he quipped:’ Ha! Yes, that’s me, I was a handsome bugger back then and a good player.

‘I could have turned professional I reckon, I did OK, and they were fun days, that Blackpool game was huge back then, local rivals and first round of the FA Cup, I know we got beat but we still had a good time.’

Now dubbed ‘two trolley John’ by other Brits living at Malaga airport, he is a familiar sight pushing his two trollies loaded with bedding, food, toiletries, clothes and water around the terminal from one end to another.

He told MailOnline: ‘You just do your best and try to keep yourself decent, I nip into the toilets when it’s quiet first thing and have a bit of a wash, there’s no showers but there are sinks and the water is warm.

‘I just have to hope no one comes in and gets a shock when they see me standing there.

‘The key thing is to get something soft to sleep on because the floor is so hard and uncomfortable, cardboard is good but anything else soft that I can find I will put into the trolley.’

John, who repeatedly politely turned down offers of a coffee or something to eat, said: ‘I have a pension from the UK but what I do is I let it build up for a few months and then I go to the bank, draw on it and get a place to live down the road on the coast.

‘That can be around 400 Euro for the month but then when summer comes along the owners turf you out because they know they can get more from the holidaymakers so it’s back to the airport.

‘To be honest now it’s been the hardest out of all the time I’ve spent here, and it’s been six months, it’s the longest I’ve been here, and I can’t see myself leaving to look for somewhere until after the summer.

So people like John who once could afford to rent year round are now priced out of their accommodation during the summer - and instead choose to live for free in airports

MailOnline sat down to interview John where he had set up for the afternoon just yards from the duty free shops and designer label stores in the lounge where has has been living 'on and off' for the last 15 years since quitting Britain

The Costa del Sol terminal is used by more than 22 million people each year

AENA, the company that runs Spain's airports said that for the time being there would be no 'special instructions' for Malaga airport. Pictured: rough sleepers at Malaga Airport

Spread across the departures and arrivals halls late on Thursday night were around 50 people sleeping on the floor or trying to bed down on hard, uncomfortable airport chairs

‘I wouldn’t go back to England for anything, why would I? I don’t have any family, just a sister somewhere but we haven’t spoken in years and anyway the weather is much better in Spain with the sunshine.’

John explained that he took early retirement in the early 2000s from his job in the computer industry and eventually ‘drifted to Spain’, drawn he says by the ‘sunny weather after years of living in rainy Lancashire’.

John, who occasionally stifled a nagging cough, added: ‘There are people living rough here from all over the world, there’s actually quite a few Brits who are here, most of them are old fellas like me but there are some younger ones.’

When asked how he was treated by workers and the police he said: ‘They are fine, I don’t give them any bother and they don’t bother me, I know some of the staff here say they have been threatened but I’ve not seen that.’

John starts his day in the departures section of the airport before wandering up to the older section of the terminal which is ‘usually a bit quieter and not so busy’ then taking the travelator down to arrivals.

There he may sit and read a book for a while, a holidaymaker has given him, or tuck into a sandwich he has been given, he said: ‘I just get on with my life and pass the day talking to people, everyone is so friendly, and they give me food and water.

Philosophically he added: ‘I’m actually very happy here and I know people in the UK will think I’m mad, but this is my life now and there’s not much I can do but get on with it and make the best of what I have.

‘I spend the day walking around talking to people, I’m not lonely as there are lots of people to speak with and if I want to go into town which is very rare, I get someone to look after my stuff and vice versa.’

Spread across the departures and arrivals halls late on Thursday night were around 50 people sleeping on the floor or trying to bed down on hard, uncomfortable airport chairs.

Sadly many appeared to have drink, drug or mental health issues - one man sleeping in a children's play area in the arrivals hall continually tossed and turned and appeared to be muttering to himself

Officials in Madrid say an astonishing 500 people sleep rough at the airport every night and as a result there has been a jump in claims of violence and drug use which tourist bosses fear may put holidaymakers off

Upstairs in departures a dozing man was seen with a kettle next to him, his worldly possessions packed into suitcases and shopping bags while another homeless woman watched a film on an I pad as she charged up making use of the plentiful power sockets.

When MailOnline visited this week we found the four dozen or so Pablo Picassso ‘zombies’ were dotted around the entire terminal, across both departures and arrivals halls, many sleeping on the floor or trying to get comfortable on chairs if no benches were free.

Sadly many appeared to have drink, drug or mental health issues.

One man sleeping in a children’s play area in the arrivals hall continually tossed and turned and appeared to be muttering to himself.

Upstairs in departures a dozing man was seen with a kettle next to him, his worldly possessions packed into suitcases and shopping bags while another homeless woman watched a film on an iPad as she charged up making use of the plentiful power sockets.

Malaga is not the only airport in Spain which is suffering from a homelessness crisis, Madrid is the same although far worse and now staff there have introduced a policy where only people with a boarding pass can enter between 9pm and 5am.

One tourist was overheard saying Terminal 4 was like a 'disaster zone' as one 'occupant' revealed some people had been living here 'for years'
A woman was seen hunched over as she walked through the airport that is used by thousands of Brits

An NGO worker said authorities have been purposely making life for the homeless more difficult in the hopes they will leave the airport
The regional government is said to be worried that airlines and countries like the UK will begin warning tourists about the risks they are exposed to at Barajas Airport.

Up to a dozen officers from the National Police were seen checking people's papers along the 'main street' of the 'homeless city', which runs across a hallway by the elevators on the first floor
One tourist was overheard saying Terminal 4 was like a ‘disaster zone’ as one ‘occupant’ revealed some people had been living here ‘for years’

Up to a dozen officers from the National Police were seen checking people¿s papers along the ¿main street¿ of the ¿homeless city¿
Terminal 4 is where the majority of the homeless live after they were relocated there by the authorities, having previously been spread across all of the airport’s four terminals

¿There are some bad eggs here who will rob you while you sleep, they usually come out at 3am, they¿ll take your phone, cigarettes, or whatever they can grab¿

The number of ‘unauthorised occupants’ – as they are called by the authorities – at the newly-dubbed ‘zombieland’ airport has gone from around 50 to almost 500

Officials in Madrid say an astonishing 500 people sleep rough at the airport every night and as a result there has been a jump in claims of violence and drug use which tourist bosses fear may put holidaymakers off.

While Madrid has put on extra police patrols to keep an eye on security Malaga appears to be for the time being relatively peaceful and certainly MailOnline saw no problems when we visited.

One worker said:’ They are no bother and to be honest I feel sorry for them, they have nowhere to go but at least its safe and dry here and people give them food from the cafes when they shut for the night.’

Malaga City Council told MailOnline that ‘around 220 people are homeless’ in the area and that ‘around 50, or approximately one in four, live at the airport’.

A spokesperson added:’ In reality we have places for 344 people if needed but many of them reject it and prefer to stay on the street or at the airport.’

And although John and the others insist they are not a problem the Association of Hoteliers on the Costa del Sol (AEHCOS) and the ruling Vox political party are calling for tougher action against those living rough in Malaga airport.

In a statement AEHCOS chief executive Javier Hernandez Rodriguez warned:’ The image we project as a destination is not the best.

‘Especially when there may be thefts or robberies at the airport by some of these people.

‘We ask that authorities reach an agreement with the airport to provide a decent alternative for these homeless people, who are just wandering around.

‘It is an issue that needs to be addressed with some urgency, for us the image is appalling, any tourist that arrives the first thing that they see is homeless people.

‘We ask the authorities to take measures and provide decent housing for these people and not have the wandering around the airport.’

Malaga MP Patricia Rueda, from the Vox conservative party, said she would be demanding ‘urgent measures’ to resolve the situation at the airport including the ‘eviction’ of those living there.

She said:’ The situation is a calamitous reality that in my opinion compromises both the health and safety of an infrastructure that is key to the province’s economic and tourism development.

‘Malaga airport is suffering from progressive deterioration and intolerable institutional neglect, and this is having an impact on the province’s image.

‘The airport is the first thing you see when you arrive, and we don’t want it to end up like Madrid with bedbugs, prostitution, violence and unhealthiness.’

AENA, the company that runs Spain’s airports said that for the time being there would be no ‘special instructions’ for Malaga airport.

It added: ‘We are in permanent and coordinated contact with the local authorities within Malaga City Council’s Social Services Department that is providing immediate attention for homeless people and is ongoing.

‘Airports are designed and equipped exclusively for passenger traffic and, therefore, are not equipped for people to live there.

‘Local and regional public authorities are aware of this reality and are working to improve the situation of homeless people.

‘Finally, we would emphasise that we have implemented all necessary measures to ensure the well-being of passengers and airport workers, within their powers.’

https://www.canalitv.com.br/noticias/the-british-pensioners-who-live-in-spains-zombieland-airport-after-airbnb-boom-priced-them-out-of-retirement-abroad/34214/