The mother of beaten footballer Robbie Hughes has described a meeting with Foreign Office officials as “Christmas come early”.

Maggie Hughes, from Wallington, was invited to a meeting with FCO director consular services Julian Braithwaite on Monday to discuss her preventative campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of binge drinking and violence abroad.

Mrs Hughes, whose son was savagely attacked in Malia, Crete, on June 17, and left fighting for his life, is also campaigning to help British citizens caught in crisis abroad.

During the meeting Mrs Hughes told Mr Braithwaite the FCO’s current campaign Another Side to Paradise did not pack the right punch and there needed to be a stronger message for holidaymakers.

She said: “At the meeting Mr Braithwaite agreed our campaign Please Enjoy Don’t Destroy campaign carried a lot of weight.

"He said he wants to work with us more closely in the future; it was fantastic, I feel like the ball is really rolling now."

Mrs Hughes said Mr Braithwaite had raised some of her points made to his colleagues at a meeting with tour operators on October 15, but more needed to be done.

Backing Mrs Hughes is MP for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake, who has organised a national conference among victims of crime abroad on December 8, to highlight concerns there is not help for British citizens caught in crisis in foreign countries.

He said he was currently looking for a sponsor to pay for victims’ families from all over the country to attend.

He said: “The aim is to submit a report to present to the Government on victims’ experiences and ideas for how the Foreign Office can improve.”

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