Soldiers banned after tourist blinded

Jeremy Caprio: says he was beaten up by a British soldier

British soldiers serving with the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus have been barred from the beach resort of Ayia Napa after a tourist was blinded in one eye during an attack.

Five men from the First Royal Tank Regiment were confined to barracks in Nicosia pending the results of an investigation into the brawl in the early hours of Tuesday.

Jeremy Caprio, 35, from Thornton, near Blackpool, Lancashire, is recovering in the Olympic Napa clinic where he had surgery on his right eye after being beaten up.

Mr Caprio, who runs his own kitchen accessories business, said he was attacked by three or four men as he left the Carwash disco in Ayia Napa on his own.

He said he was knocked to the floor and lost consciousness as they kicked him repeatedly.

His sister Lisa, 23, and cousin Paula witnessed the assault but were unable to stop it.

Mr Caprio's fiancée, Janice Galloway, was due to fly out to be by his bedside on Wednesday night.

A British soldier, working in the UN's Blue Beret brigade, has been questioned by Cypriot police and is being held in military custody.

Soldiers banned

The British military authorities have already banned 250 soldiers in the unit from Ayia Napa, one of Cyprus's most popular resorts.

Another 3,750 British troops in Cyprus could also face a ban.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The military police will work hand-in-hand with the Cypriot police.

"The soldier was off-duty and having a drink, one would imagine." The spokesman said fights involving soldiers "blackened the Army's good name".