‘I thought she was dead’: Somerset couple hit by motorbike in Greece

Watch: The couple say they won't be put off from going on holidays

A couple from Radstock say their lives have changed forever after being hit by a motorbike in Greece on their first holiday abroad together.

Alisha Owens and Zoran Kittlety were left with brain injuries, broken bones and had to re-learn how to walk after they were struck while walking to a beach in Athens eighteen months ago.

They say they are now adapting to “a new normal” back home thanks to family and friends who have helped support them.

Alisha said: “I would easily say last year was the worst year of my life. After the accident, I was really scared to leave the house on my own.

“I used to be a baby room lead in a nursery and it was very physical, very active. And I know that I can't really do that at this current time. I think mourning something like a career is really hard, really hard.”

Alisha has no memory of the accident and had to re-learn how to walk again. She still has limited sensation on one side of her face. Zoran can remember what happened but is still struggling to gain full mobility of his leg which has affected what he can do at the builder’s merchants where he works.

Zoran said: “When you get hit, it was that moment of what's just happened. It took a while to sink in. Obviously you're in shock as well. I didn't know that Alisha was alive until 24 hours later. There was a big puddle of blood on the floor. I didn't know if that was it.”

The couple say their ordeal in hospital in Greece was “traumatic” before friends joined them and helped them fly home to receive further treatment at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Zoran said: “The surgery doesn’t stop for me. I'm more than likely going to have to have a knee replacement sooner rather than later. you just don't know when it's going to end.”

There has also been a significant financial impact for the couple. Although their hospital care in Greece was covered by their European Health Insurance Card, the loss of work, especially for Alisha, has been significant.

They are in the process of claiming compensation for the accident, but after leaving the EU the process is more complex and takes far longer. Zoran and Alisha’s solicitor is urging holidaymakers to double check their travel insurance before going away this summer.

Tracy Stansfield from Hudgell Solicitors said: "Receiving medical care in foreign hospitals can be very, very, very expensive. And the last thing you want, adding insult to injury is if you have an accident, then finding yourself with a very big bill for the care that you've received.

"So make sure that you have adequate insurance which covers the the right countries and activities you are doing.

But despite everything they have been Zoran and Alisha say they still have not been put off travelling insisting "you can't hold back, this was a one in a million accident".