Dad Anthony Davis home safely following Turkey "nightmare"

DAD Anthony Davis has returned home with an emergency escort after suffering serious injuries on holiday in Turkey.

The 31-year-old from Rowanfield was forced to endure an agonising three- and-a-half week wait overseas after he sustained a punctured lung and broken ribs in a terrifying road crash.

The 31-year-old was one of eight former Pittville School pupils in a minibus which plunged down a steep embankment on a treacherous coastal route.

Seven of the group were able to return home in the days after the accident – but Anthony remained stuck in Turkey because doctors deemed him unfit to fly.

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After he finally touched down in the UK this week, he spoke for the first time about his ordeal.

"It has been an absolute nightmare," he said.

"We had only been in Turkey for an hour and a half when the accident happened.

"It was a disaster really.

"I'm still in a lot of pain, but very glad to be home.

"My insurance company sent out a doctor to escort me back on a chartered flight.

"I had to wear an oxygen mask and travel in business class, but thankfully the trip went without any incident.

"People kept saying Turkey wasn't the worst place to get stuck, but when you've got a five-year-old son crying down the phone asking when you're coming home, it's not great.

"I've got my own business to run too so I couldn't come home soon enough."

Anthony had been embarking on a much-anticipated reunion with his former school friends when the accident happened in the early hours of September 29.

The minibus they were travelling in was en route from Dalaman Airport to the coastal resort of Kalkan when it veered off the road.

A police investigation is under way to find out the cause of the crash.

Many of the group are still carrying nasty injuries.

Anthony's girlfriend, Shelley Whitehead, who suffered a fractured pelvis and damaged spine in the accident, has just returned home after been discharged from hospital.

Another member of the group is in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital with a broken back, while the other have an assortment of broken bones, bruises and dislocations.

Anthony, who runs AM Davis Heating and Plumbing, recalled the moment the minibus swerved off the road.

"I was asleep but woke up as just as we were coming down the road.

"After the moment of impact, all hell broke loose.

"We ended up in a ditch that was half full of water and we had to get out.

"Obviously we were all carrying injuries but adrenaline took over.

"Despite everything we're lucky to be alive."

The group is set to enter talks over a possible compensation claim in relation to the accident in the coming weeks.