Olympian on Briton death charge

Some Athens roads have lanes reserved for Olympic traffic

A member of the Danish Olympic sailing team has been charged with manslaughter after a Briton was killed when he was hit by a car in Athens.

Errol Strachan, 45, was struck while crossing Posidonos Avenue at 2100 local time (1900 BST) on Sunday.

The Greek Ministry of Public Order named the sailor as Nicklas Holm, 23, who had been driving to see a women's handball game when the crash happened.

He was arrested on Sunday by police and appeared in court briefly on Monday.

Mr Holm was charged with manslaughter and speeding. He was released on bail and will be allowed to compete in the games.

The Copenhagen-born sailor competes in the star class competition which starts on Saturday. He was named Denmark's sailor of the year in 2002.

A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman said Mr Strachan had been working for a catering company in Athens.

"He was a pedestrian crossing the Olympic lane on one of the main roads when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle," she said.

Next of kin have been informed.

Police have informed the Danish embassy, Denmark's ambassador to Greece, Hans Grunnet, told Associated Press.

"The Olympic committee is handling it," he added.

Two passengers in the car - a crewmate and a coach - were not charged.

Mr Holm was driving in one of the designated Olympic lanes when the accident occurred.

The Danish Olympic Committee said Mr Holm, Denmark's sailor of the year in 2002, would be allowed to compete.

Athens is hosting the 28th Olympics games, with more than 10,500 athletes and 3,000 team officials from 202 countries participating.