Bradley had flown out to the Greek island with friends the day before disaster struck, his mum said
Bradley Belhomme, from Salford, is in hospital in Athens(Image: Family Submit)
The family of a 20-year-old man have issued a desperate plea for help after he was left fighting for his life following a quad bike crash. Bradley Belhomme, from Salford, suffered catastrophic head injuries after a collision with a coach during a lad’s holiday to Zante, in Greece last Friday (July 3), his loved ones said.
Bradley had flown out to the party hotspot with a group of friends on Thursday (July 2). The party had rented quads to ride on on the Greek island when disaster struck and he was involved in the serious crash while riding with another friend, who was also hospitalised.
The 20-year-old, who is ‘loved by everyone’ is now in intensive care and in a coma after being transported to a hospital in Attica, in Athens, mainland Greece, his family have said.
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Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, his mum Leanne Rabbetts said: “He went on the holiday on Thursday and everything was fine. I spoke to him when he arrived, but then on the Friday afternoon I got the call saying there had been a crash.
“I was thinking ‘what the hell happened?’. I had to ring the hospital in Zante at the time, but they couldn’t give me much information. Then I got another call that night saying he was being moved to Athens because of the condition he was in.
“He has serious head trauma so he’s getting better care there. I flew out on Sunday as soon as I could and have been here every day. We can only spend half an hour with him.
“The doctors tried to bring him out of a coma yesterday but he wasn’t responding. Then they tried again to wake him up today [Monday] and he had two fits. They don’t know if it’s a bleed on the brain, so he has to have an MRI scan to see what has happened and the damage to his brain, but he isn’t responding at all at the moment.”
Leanne said they believe that Bradley had travel insurance for the trip, but that they have not yet been able to confirm details about this and do not have access to his phone. They say have also been in touch with the British Embassy for support.
“All I really know is that he’s been on a quadbike with his friends, and they’ve all rented them. As he’s turned around a corner, I’ve been told there’s been a crash with a coach. We didn’t know how serious it was until we got here.
“His friend he was sharing a room with stayed with him in hospital in Zante and came to Athens when he got transferred, but obviously they couldn’t stay with him.”
Appeals have since been shared across social media from friends, with fundraising events and walks also organised by members of the local community and friends to help raise money to pay for hospital bills in the interim.
“Because of the head trauma, we don’t even know when he will be able to come home or the situation,” Bradley’s uncle Adam said. “We can’t do anything. We are just waiting for the scan and trying to make sure everything is covered at the moment, because if the insurance is invalid it’s a big bill.
“At the moment the main thing is Bradley and making sure he is okay and eventually getting him up and home.
“The local community and friends have all donated and have been brilliant. Bradley is a loveable lad who has gone away to have a lads’ holiday and enjoy himself. He’s a hardworking boy and unfortunately, being young, you often make the wrong choices.
“It’s all questions and no answers at the moment. And out here there’s a huge language barrier. He’s in intensive care and we have to wear full PPE to see him for just half an hour. We are like a fish out of water.”
The GoFundMe page can be found here.
