A young Scots man was left lying in the sea unconscious after being badly beaten and hit with a brick in a horror gang attack on the first day of his holiday.
Lewis Thomson was in Croatia with four of his pals when they were savagely attacked and chased by a group of around 20 men on the beach in the early hours of Friday morning.
Lewis, from Grangemouth, became separated from his mates in the Split area while they tried to outrun the vicious thugs but he took the brunt of the attack when he was caught.
He was beaten, kicked, stamped on, punched and hit in the face with a brick. Lewis was then thrown into the sea while unconscious. As he was rushed to hospital doctors discovered he had a 1cm tear in his lung, two broken ribs and bad facial injuries.
Lewis currently remains in hospital recovering and is expected to be able to fly home in around two to three weeks. His devastated parents have flown over to Croatia to be by his side and his four friends have now safely returned home.
He was not insured for the trip but the British Consulate were able to obtain emergency insurance to cover the emergency medical costs for Lewis. A friend has now set up a fundraising page to help his family pay for their travel and accommodation costs.
So far over £4000 has been raised since the fundraiser was set up one day ago. A statement on the page said: "As you can imagine, this is everyone's worst nightmare.
"Your kid in hospital in a foreign country, nobody can communicate with you, you can't get answers or speak to them and their friends are not allowed in to see them.
"Once Lewis's family were notified they arranged to fly out to Croatia. The British Consulate was brilliant and managed to sort out emergency insurance to cover the emergency medical costs.
"However, the costs for Lewis's family travelling and staying for an unknown amount of time is something none of us prepare for.
"I hope you understand and appreciate the difficult situation they have found themselves in and can help relieve some of the pressure and costs on them. You would hope everyone would do the same for you.
"Any amount you could donate would be a huge help to Lewis and his family and would be much appreciated."
Donations to the fundraising page can be made by clicking here.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting a British National following an incident in Croatia and are in contact with the local authorities.”
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