London student tells of terrifying ‘beating’ by Croatia hostel staff

Warning: north London student Laura Denmar has told other backpackers to double-check their hostel bookings

A student playwright has described the “terrifying ordeal” she endured when she was attacked for refusing to pay more money for her holiday hostel.

Laura Denmar, 26, needed emergency hospital treatment for a gash to the head, a fractured hand and bruising to the arms during her trip to Split in Croatia.

Her boyfriend Jeremy, 39, was allegedly pinned to a wall by two men but was spared from injury when another hostel guest intervened.

Miss Denmar, who is studying for her master’s degree at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in north London, claimed the incident unfolded after a hostel cleaner demanded money from them.

She told the Evening Standard: “The cleaner locked the door so we were locked inside the hostel. We said we weren’t going to pay the money. We had to wait for her boyfriend.

Injuries: Laura Denmar, 26, needed emergency hospital treatment for a gash to the head, a fractured hand and bruising to the arms during her trip to Split in Croatia

“When he arrived he had another guy with him and they held my boyfriend against the wall while she beat me with a weapon. It was a sharp metal bar; I think it was part of a bunk bed. She just pulled it out when her boyfriend got there. My head split open and I had to have stitches on the back of my head. I fractured my hand.”

The couple got the first plane home to England, cutting their holiday short by a month. They had been travelling around Europe and had booked the £60-a-night hostel through the Hostel World website.

Their accommodation was meant to be in Split’s picturesque Old Town, on the Dalmatian coast, but they were redirected on arrival to a high-rise block in a suburb. However, the couple had already paid, so decided to stay in the flat which had 30 beds and only one bathroom.

Miss Denmar said she felt “let down” by Hostel World and warned others to check their bookings. “What happened to us was awful and I would hate for it to happen to anyone else,” she said. She made a statement to Croatian police and contacted the British Embassy.

A spokeswoman for Hostel World said: “The safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us. The relevant apartment was removed immediately as soon as an issue was raised.”

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