Greek woman fed up with rowdy British tourist sets him on fire

Aug 7, 2009, 13:07 GMT

Athens - A Greek woman fed up with the behaviour of a rowdy British tourist who allegedly harassed her in a bar on the southern Mediterranean island of Crete poured alcohol over him and set him on fire, reports said Friday.

The incident took place in the popular holiday resort town of Malia when a 20-year-old British man, who was allegedly drunk, engaged in lewd behaviour with a 26-year-old resident.

The woman, a student, was apparently upset with the tourist's behaviour and grabbed a bottle of spirits that she then poured over the Briton, before setting fire to the liquid, police in the island's capital Heraklion said.

The woman initially left the bar but later turned herself in to police. She was due to appear before a prosecutor later on Friday.

The man was being treated for second degree burns at a local hospital.

Millions of Britons travel to Greece each year, and many are young people who are going abroad without their parents for the first time.

In the past few years, the number of British getting into trouble with the law in Greece has increased as well as the number who fall victim to crime, including rape, because they have had too much to drink.

In May, a court in Crete allowed a group of 17 British tourists in Crete to go free after they were arrested for wearing nun costumes and allegedly flashing their backsides at residents in Malia.

The tourist resort of Malia, as well as the Faliraki in Rhodes and Kavos on Corfu, are notorious for attracting boisterous visitors, the majority from Britain.

Greek and British police have announced plans to work together in an effort to crack down on drunken British tourists.