British tourist denies assaulting chef

A BRITISH tourist yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges of grievous bodily harm against a Cypriot chef.

Gavin Kieran Gallimore, 30, from Southgate, north London is set to face trial on November 29.

His alleged victim, Loucas Ioannou, 28, remains in a serious but stable condition at Nicosia general hospital. He has been taken off a ventilator and is out of a coma, but doctors say he is still a long way from a full recovery.

Doctors are still unable to determine the extent of any brain damage he might have suffered in the attack.

A neurosurgery ward nurse yesterday told the Cyprus Mail: “He understands some things and is trying to talk. But there has definitely been some damage.”

Ioannou was rushed to hospital with a fractured skull following an attack at the Black and White disco in Ayia Napa on August 3.

He underwent emergency surgery and was placed on a ventilator.

Police say the assault took place after Ioannou accidentally bumped into the suspect in the packed disco.

Gallimore, a quantity surveyor, is alleged to have punched the chef and slammed his head on the disco bar.

The Criminal court in Larnaca decided Gallimore should remain in custody until the trial.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.