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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Milo Boyd

Brit dad-of-two killed in hit-and-run crash on Cyprus holiday after bar fight

A father-of-two was killed in a hit-and-run crash while walking home from a bar on a family holiday in Cyprus.

Builder Robert "Charlie" Birch, 39 was heading home after a night out with a family member when he was mown down by a local man after an earlier bar fight.

Keen golfer Charlie died at the scene after being hit on the roadside at roughlu 3am.

The Welshpool, Powys man was on the second night of his holiday and had gone drinking in Paphos with relative William Pritchard, 32, in June 2018.

The two men had been on a table next to Demetris Ilidzides, 35, and his unnamed 23-year-old female companion.

The father-of-two got into a fight at the bar (Athena Pictures)

Charlie began talking to the woman which led a fight to break out, in which the Welshman hit Ilidzides in the face.

The British pair left the bar and walked along an "earth verge" at the side of the road as they made their way home.

As they were wandering along Ilidzides came racing down the track "at high speed" and "under the influence of alcohol", hitting both men.

He then drove off into the sea before being helped out of the water by three people.

Ilidzides was caught by police and sentenced to two and a half years in prison for reckless driving at Paphos district court.

At the time of his death Charlie had been on holiday with his two daughters, his mother and other members of the family after saving up for a year.

Assistant coroner for the South Wales Central area Rachel Knight offered her condolences to Mr Birch's family as she recorded a narrative verdict.

He was struck as he walked home (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

She said: "I cannot conceive how horrendous it must have been to go on holiday and come back without your loved one.

"Robert was out socialising with a relative and became involved in an altercation with a man in a bar in the early hours of the morning shortly before his death.

"The same man went on to drive a vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol and went on to hit Robert who was walking lawfully along the side of the road. Sadly Robert died of his injuries at the scene."

A family statement read out during the inquest said Charlie was the only son born to Rose and Jim Birch and was described as the "apple of their eye."

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