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transcription by Sheila Gardner GET HER HOME NOW EXCLUSIVE SINGER CHRIS AIDS FUND TO SAVE SARAH Singer Chris de Burgh last night pledged 5,000 towards the soaring medical bills od a British teenager lying injured in a Turkish hospital. Sarah Webster, who suffered six horrific arm and leg fractures in a 30ft fall from a hotel balcony, has been told that she cannot go home until doctors receive up to 20,000 for treating her at Abu Hetman clinic in the holiday resort of Marmaris. The showjumper who hopes to represent Britain in the 2012 Olympics faces having to sell her beloved pony Izzie unless she can raise the funds some other way. The crippling bill should have been covered by the travel insurance with the Post Office but it has refused to pay the medical costs because doctors in Turkey claimed that Sarah was drunk. This was despite the 18 year old being unconscious when she was taken into hospital last Friday and no breathalyser or blood tests being carried out. De Burgh, whose wife Diane nearly died in a riding accident was so moved after reading about Sarah's plight in the Daily Express that he contacted us with his extraordinary donation. He was joined by dozens of Daily Express readers who have phoned to pledge cash to the growing fund which has been set up to pay for Sarah's bills. De Burgh, a father-of-three who is in Britain on his Freedom Tour 2004 said "My daughter Rosanna, the current Miss World, is not much older than Sarah so my heart went out to her parents. It would be a tragedy if Sarah's pony had to be sold." The singer, famous for his Lady In Red hot added "I am making this donation in the hope that other individuals and institutions can match it so that we can get her home." The Nationwide Building Society, where Sarah worked, also pledged a significant donation. It said "Sarah worked in Swindon where our staff have also been raising funds for her." Asda, the supermarket giant which has given Sarah's mother Pat time off so she can be at her daughter's bedside, pledged funds too and added there will be a collection at the Cricklade store where Pat works. Rod Nicholls who has known Sarah since the age of seven, sold his motorbike to raise 1000 for the medical bills. His wife Sarah, 57, who keeps a horse at the same stables as Izzie, said "She has been treated shabbily by the Post Office." Mel Jones, whose husband Steve is a leading rider, is holding a barn dance in Highworth, Wilts. She said "Lots of people are rallying round." Small print in Sarah's policy says she is not covered for claims caused by being under the influence of alcohol. After refusing to pay anything, the Post office has now offered to cover the cost of flying her home-but until the medical bills are paid she cannot board the plane. The Post office said staff at Sarah's hotel said she was drunk, but manager Cem Hepycuel said she had only two drinks - five hours before her fall. The doctor treating Sarah said he stood by his assessment she was drunk but admitted he had "no data" to back up his opinion. There is also a pic of Chris and also one of Sarah in her hospital bed heavily bandaged, smiling with a bouquet of flowers and staff from her favourite restaurant. There is also a note on the bottom saying that if they would like to pledge money they can send a cheque or postal order made out to Sarah's sister Harriet Gray, c/o The Sarah Webster Appeal, Newsdesk, Daily Express, Lodgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 9UX. |
File last modified on August 26, 2006