Tom Ewart Smith
A BRITISH pensioner has been left with life-changing injuries after suffering a horrific assault while holidaying in Spain. attack on him in Caleta, Fuerteventura.
Retired carpenter Marshall Latham, 68, was ‘just a chap on holiday’ with his partner Lynn in Caleta, Fuerteventura, when tragedy struck.
The retiree, from Nantwich, Cheshire, was walking back to his apartment after drinks with some friends, when he was punched ‘out of the blue’ by a random thug.
According to his brother-in-law Jim Casey, Marshall was punched so hard that he fell and hit his head hard on the concrete floor.
He was knocked unconscious and taken to a hospital in Puerto del Rosario.
The Brit had to be transferred via air ambulance to the Insular Hospital in Gran Canaria, as Fuerteventura’s facilities weren’t adequately equipped for the brain trauma he had suffered.
Once transferred, he underwent surgery to remove 14cm of his skull, before having a tracheotomy. He then caught pneumonia twice and battled through meningitis.
Marshall has been told that he is unlikely to ‘walk or talk again’.
The tragic outcome has only just been revealed, despite the assault happening last year, on December 10.
After the incident, another British man was arrested after trying to board a flight to Glasgow.
According to Casey, who spoke to The Nantwich News a few days ago, the alleged perpetrator was ‘thrown out of a bar on the same night before the attack’.
Witness reports state that the assault was unprovoked, and Marshall’s loved ones have emphasised his pacific and lovable character.
“Marsh has never been in any trouble or even had a parking ticket,” said Casey.
According to local councillor Allen Gage, Marshall was crossing the road to help someone out when he was knocked down.
In a social media post on Friday, Gage said: “We need justice.”
This ‘justice’ has been created in the form of a GoFundMe appeal, called ‘Help Us Get Justice For Marsh’.
The page gives more details about the tragic incident and the aftermath.
Supposedly, friends and family have been told twice to go and say their goodbyes to Marshall ‘because the medical staff didn’t think he would make it through the night’.
Neil Cooper, a friend of Marshall and in charge of the GoFundMe, set an initial target for funding at £4000.
He writes that ‘this will allow us to hire a solicitor on retainer and enable them to start reviewing the case’.
However, the legal fees for Marshall’s case are estimated ‘to be around £20,000’.
The GoFundMe page now has this sum as its target, in the hope that friends and family can bring the attacker to justice. Currently, £9,414 has been raised from 196 donations.
