Appeal launched to help injured Blackpool student

10:14am Thursday 21st August 2008

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A massive fundraising operation is underway to bring a Blackpool sports student back to the UK after a horror fall in Thailand left him with a broken neck.

Dominic Chadwick, 22, has been told he may never walk again after falling from a walkway leading to the Hilton Hotel, in the popular tourist resort of Phuket on August 12, while on holiday with his girlfriend Alex.

Dominic's mother Jane and two older brothers, James and Andrew, have flown out to be at his bedside in hospital in Bangkok.

But the North Shore family have been left with a financial headache, after an insurance mix-up meant that Dominic was insured for only £3,000.

With medical bills estimated to rise as high as £25,000, family and friends havelaunched a desperate campaign to raise funds to bring Dominic back to the UK for treatment.

Natalie Lidstone, who is leading the campaign and is the girlfriend of Dominic’s brother James, said: “We’ve managed to arrange a couple of events for Dom so far and hope to have a really big event in September.

“There are collection buckets and posters in several local hotels and pubs as well. We need to do as much as we can to help the family meet these costs and bring him home.

“Dom is a really lively and fun guy. He is incredibly popular and would do anything for anyone.

“He also loves sport and is very active, I have spoken to James and he said Dom has started to come to terms with what has happened mentally, and that he is determined to fight it and get back to full fitness and back playing sport again.”

Natalie’s parents, Angela and David Lidstone, who run Stanley Park Art Deco Cafe, gave several thousand pounds to start the appeal.

The former St Mary’s College pupil suffered crushed vertebrae at the base of his neck and top of his spinal column from the fall, as well as a collapsed lung and a blood clot in his leg.

Dominic was due to return to Edge Hill University, in Ormskirk, in September, to retake the final year of his sports science course to train as a PE teacher.

He worked part-time at the Litten Tree pub, in Queen Street, as well as playing for Blackpool Men’s Hockey team.

Dave Robertson, the general manager of the Litten Tree, said: “He is a really popular lad and all the staff and customers love him.

“He’s worked here for about 18 months now and some people at the pub have known him for 10 years. All our thoughts are with him and his family, we’ve had lots of customers asking about him.”

The Litten Tree is holding a fundraising night for Dominic on Thursday, August 28, from 8pm, with a DJ, a raffle, an auction and possibly a live band.