St Helens man fighting for his life in Benidorm after 'one punch' attack whilst on holiday

ITV News' Jennifer Buck spoke to Andrew's family as they try to raise the money they need to get him home in time for Christmas.

A man from Merseyside is fighting for his life in Benidorm after allegedly being punched whilst on holiday.

Andrew Frazer, from St Helens, was in Spain to celebrate his brother's birthday along with a group of friends. He is now recovering from brain surgery, paralysed down one side and unable to speak.

His family are desperately trying to raise money to bring him back to the UK.

An online fundraiser page has so far raised more than 23 thousand pounds, but they still need to reach their target of 28-30 thousand pounds to pay for a specialist medical flight so he can be monitored throughout the journey.

Andrew's sister-in-law Claire Howard flew out to the holiday resort with her sister Carrie who is Andrew's partner.

Claire says Andrew was taken to hospital for scans where he was found to have a bleed on the brain. She said: "we flew out to be with them on the Saturday and by the Tuesday night, he had been rushed into emergency surgery - the bleed on brain had got so bad it had pushed his brain 1.2cm to the left.

"He had a craniotomy where they removed part of his skull to release the pressure, and he was put in induced coma and was on life support."

Andrew is now awake but unable to speak. He is paralysed down his right side.

His family want to get him back to Merseyside in the hope he can be treated by specialist neurologists at The Walton Centre in Aintree. He will have to undergo further surgery in Spain to re-attach his skull before he can fly.

His family are still trying to make sense of what happened to him. Claire says: " He has immediately been knocked unconscious and hit his head on the floor on the way down and for someone to do that, no-one deserves that and it has caused such devastating consequences."

They have the full support of a charity that helps with the aftermath of one punch attacks, One Punch UK.

Its director Maxine Thompson Curl said: "People lash out and they never believe the damage they are going to do by throwing that one punch. Our heads and our brains are very precious things that we need to be looking after. That poor lad went on his holiday and now he's in a hospital bed and we are hoping and praying we can get him back."

Claire has since returned home but Andrew's partner of ten years, Carrie, remains with him in Spain. They got engaged just two weeks ago.

Claire said: "Carrie is holding up, it's so difficult for her - she has to be strong so we're doing all we can to help get him home. There's nothing they wouldn't do for each other. We just can't believe this has happened to him."

Andrew's niece Jessica added: "Andrew is a kind man who does everything for everybody. He's a family man and everyone loves him.

"We need to get him home before Christmas - we are trying our best to help with the fundraiser. We're so grateful to everyone who's donated - it's been overwhelming."

Andrew's family are now calling for one last push on donations to get to their target in the next two weeks.

Andrew is step dad to 17 year old twins Poppy and Harry, along with all the family they are hoping he is home for Christmas.

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