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A British father facing jail in Malta after a violent hotel brawl fears he won't survive if imprisoned there.
Liam Stacey, 29, was on holiday with his family when he confronted a group of rowdy yobs who were allegedly exposing themselves to sunbathers and pulling a woman by the hair.
Stacey asked the group to move away from the children's pool but chaos erupted after one of the men, Roderick Sciortino, slapped him in the face.
Stacey hit back with a single punch, knocking Sciortino unconscious. The 35-year-old died in hospital five days later from a brain aneurysm.
In court, a medical expert confirmed Sciortino's death was unrelated to the punch describing it instead as a 'pathological bleed' that struck at the wrong moment.
But Stacey has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm and faces trial in Malta.
His mother, Dawn Lockyer said her 'devastated' son fears he won't come out alive if jailed there, citing 'horrendous' conditions in Maltese prisons.
'He (Stacey) was arrested and put into the cells and he said it was absolutely awful,' Ms Lockyer told Daily Mail.
'He said if he ever had to do jail there, he would never come out alive. He said it was horrendous.'
British father Liam Stacey is facing jail after a violent brawl at a Maltese hotel fears he won't survive if imprisoned there. Pictured: Liam Stacey and his mother Dawn Lockyer
Liam has been accused of causing grievous bodily harm but denies the charges. The Brit was dragged into the altercation after seeing a group of local men pulling a woman by the hair and disrupting sunbathers. Pictured: Liam and his mother Dawn
The altercation was caught on video, with footage showing how holidaymakers screamed as the fight spiralled out of control
Stacey is currently in the UK after being released on bail but must return to continue his trial.
Ms Lockyer fears for her son's safety upon his return to Malta after Sciortino's relatives turned up to Stacey's first court hearing shouting threats and making cut-throat gestures at him from the public gallery.
Despite the medical evidence, Sciortino's relatives blamed Stacey for his death.
Stacey had been relaxing beside the pool with his three young daughters, aged two, three and eight, shortly before his family holiday turned into a living hell.
He confronted a group of drunken locals who were disturbing hotel guests, asking them to move elsewhere.
But his polite request was answered with violence as one of the men, Roderick Sciortino, slapped him across the face and sent him stumbling over his toddler daughter.
Stacey retaliated, punching Sciortino and sending him crashing to the ground.
Shocking footage shows holidaymakers screaming as the fight spiraled out of control, with video showing fists flying before Sciortino lay unconscious by the poolside.
A man was shown lying unconscious on the ground after the altercation
In court, a medical expert said Sciorentino's death was not caused by the blow, describing it instead as a 'pathological bleed' that struck at the wrong moment
Pictured: Roderick Sciortino, who died five days after the brawl
'My son asked them to take it away from the children's pool and the man hit him. My son landed on my granddaughter, who's two, and she started crying.
'And then obviously, my son's retaliation was hit back,' Ms Lockyer said.
'It just happened so fast because the Maltese man slaps Liam quite quickly. He never gives Liam a chance to speak.'
Staff tried to contain the chaos but the group reportedly threatened to throw them in the pool.
Ms Lockyer said Stacey has been left 'devastated by the incident' and 'can't think of anything else'.
'It's not in Liam's character to be like that. He's really laid back so it was a bit of a shock.'
She added: 'He's not sleeping. He's on sleeping tablets. He can't think of anything else.'
During the first hearing, one witness, British senior police officer Tonya Cook, explained how a group of seven to eight Maltese individuals arrived that morning and began to drink heavily.
Despite the medical evidence clearing Stacey's name, Sciortino's relatives turned up to the hearing, shouting threats and making cut-throat gestures at him
They had a baby with them and according to the witness were spilling their drinks and even hanging the child upside down
They had a baby with them and, according to Cook, were spilling their drinks and even hanging the child upside down.
After having lunch with her husband, Cook returned and found the group taking personal items of the guests from their sunbeds so that they could get loungers where they wanted.
Later on, Cook heard screams coming from the pool and saw one man in red shorts shouting at a woman and pulling her hair.
She also described the water as being full of a woman's hair and having a strange colour.
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Although she and her friends had asked hotel staff to intervene, they refused, not wanting to get involved.
Cook then found a crowd around a Maltese man on the floor 'turning blue' as well as her friend, an emergency doctor, performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him.
She also recalled seeing a man in red shorts running towards the exit, hitting people as he went through and making strange noises.
Although Cook pleaded with hotel staff to lock the doors, they refused since this man was a paying guest.
Cook managed to hold the man and even asked police officers to arrest him. Although he was detained, he was later released once he began to cry.
The police officer also recalled her encounter with Stacey's partner, Natasha Jerrard, who she described as being 'absolutely distraught'.
After helping Jerrard to her room, Cook was informed by Stacey that he pushed someone who had punched him.
Jerrard also testified that one of the men had come up to, and slapped Stacey, causing him to fall on their two-year-old.
She added that her partner got up and punched the man, who fell on the ground.
Martin Wesley, the partner of Stacey's mother, also provided testimony and referred to the group of Maltese individuals who were 'drinking loads'.
According to Wesley, Stacey had told the group to be quiet as they had been upsetting the children.
Following coverage of the incident, hospitality and leisure company the db Group condemned all violence and inappropriate behaviour.
It said: 'db Group is treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and has launched internal investigation.
'db Group is fully cooperating with all the relevant authorities to ensure transparency and accountability. In addition, we have also taken other preemptive actions such as strengthening of security measures and a review of our admissions policy.'
They added that if it shortcomings from staff members come to light, 'disciplinary action will be taken without any hesitation.'
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