GREECE: Five British holiday reps have been arrested as part of a police crackdown on alleged drunken disorder in the Greek resort of Faliraki but were acquitted of the charges before a court.
Three Club 18-30 reps and one each from First Choice and Olympic Holidays appeared in court on the island of Rhodes yesterday accused of organising banned pub crawls. Faliraki police chief Capt Themis Kalamantas launched the crackdown on violence and banned organised bar crawls last week, after Mr Peter Navarro (21), Wirral, Merseyside, was charged with killing a tourist.
Mr Navarro, who booked his holiday through Club 18-30, is reported to have admitted killing Northern Ireland-born Paddy Doran (17) from Peterborough with a broken bottle, when he appeared in court in Rhodes four days ago. He appeared in court at Rhodes again yesterday behind closed doors.
After the hearing his lawyer, Mr Akis Dimitriadis, said Mr Navarro had said he had been acting in self-defence. Mr Dimitriadis is also representing nine other Britons arrested in connection with Mr Doran's death.
The resort of Faliraki attracts large crowds of young holidaymakers, but local authorities there have banned the practice of encouraging large groups of tourists to go for heavy drinking sessions, allegedly in return for commission from the participating bars. - (PA)