Uninsured Brit is in a coma with severe brain injuries after accident on first holiday without family in Zante: Distraught mother pleads for help to raise funds

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:45, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 10:50, 17 June 2026 A British man who went on holiday to Greece uninsured is in a coma with severe brain injuries following a devastating accident. Louis Benson had travelled to Zante with his friends, on what was his first holiday without his family, when tragedy struck. The holidaymaker was involved in a serious accident before being rushed to the hospital with a bleed on the brain.    His distraught mother, Olinda, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said he was placed into an induced coma and needed to be transferred to mainland Greece for life-saving surgery. She revealed there was no insurance in place and appealed for donations to help cover urgent costs, including getting Louis's dad out to Greece to be by his side while she remained at home caring for her other son. In an update shared on June 11, Olinda revealed Louis had been transferred to Athens by the Royal Air Force. Two days later, on June 13, Olinda said she had arrived in Athens and thanked people for their overwhelming support.  Yesterday, said he remained in a critical but stable condition. 'He has another CT scan tomorrow, and they are looking for improvement so they can wake him up. He moved his head this evening when we talked to him,' she wrote on GoFundMe.  Louis Benson had travelled to Zante with his friends, on what was his first holiday without his family, when tragedy struck His distraught mother, Olinda, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said Louis was placed into an induced coma and needed to be transferred to mainland Greece for life-saving surgery She said: 'Hello, my name is Olinda and I’m on here as I’m desperate and need help.  'My oldest son went on holiday with a group of his friends to Zante. He was so happy and excited.  'He’s been struggling with his brother being in hospital currently, too and is very poorly. It was his first holiday without his family. So this holiday would’ve taken his mind off this for a bit. 'Today he was involved in a serious accident and is in hospital in an induced coma with a bleed on his brain.  'He needs to be transferred to mainland Greece for life-saving surgery. No insurance sadly.  'His father needs to get there and be with him, as I have to be here for my other son.  'This is by far the most tragic set of circumstances, and I’m begging for help no matter how small'.   Olinda later shared a heartbreaking update after speaking to doctors about her son's condition. She said: 'Louis had a severe brain injury. He is heavily sedated. 'They are keeping him stable and sedated for the next few days, then will slowly wake him to see if he responds to stimuli and if he moves, talks, and understands. 'They cannot say anything more than that at the moment.' She added: 'They let me see him for a few minutes only, as visiting is strict. 'It broke my heart seeing him like that. I talked to him and told him to be strong and to recover. 'And he was massively loved by all of us.' By Wednesday, £30,878 had been raised towards a £45,000 target as supporters rallied around the family during the ordeal. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.