Group 'innocent of Corfu damage'

Ten teenage students from the north west of England say they are planning legal action against a Greek hotelier in a row over alleged damage to a bar.

The group, staying in the resort of Kavos in Corfu, say the owner demanded compensation from them for damage and theft to a pool bar.

They say he used Greek police to extort £1,000 in spending money from them.

The teenagers insist they were innocent and were targeted because of the crisis facing the Greek tourist industry.

The hotelier has not been available for comment.

We're infuriated by the accusations and by the way it has been handled Matthew Birchill, from Chorley

The teenagers had travelled to the Greek island to celebrate the end of A-levels and imminent departure to university.

They claim the complex owner accused them of setting fire to a pool bar and stealing alcohol.

Matthew Birchill, from Chorley, one of the party, said the Greek police would not let them bring forward their witnesses.

"They [Greek police] just took the owner's word for it, on what her witness said. We're infuriated by the accusations and by the way it has been handled," he said.

He added: "We've tried contacting our holiday rep but he's not answering his phone, the owner won't give us her full name and we can't get an incident number from the police.

"We're really struggling, as we have little money left and two people have already had to go home."

The students come from Chorley, Warrington, Bolton and Manchester areas.