Man dies after being hit with bottle in Prague

Dai Richards with his partner both smiling at the cameraImage source, Gemma Thomas
Image caption,

Dai Richards died in hospital after he was hit over the head with a glass bottle

  • Published

A man has died after being hit over the head with a vodka bottle while he was on holiday in the Czech Republic.

Dai Richards, understood to be from Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was on a night out in Prague on Friday.

Police said Mr Richards was hit on the head at about 23:00 local time (22:00 BST) and was taken to hospital where he later died.

Police in Prague said they have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with Mr Richards' death.

The family told WalesOnline, external that Mr Richards had returned from a family holiday on Thursday night before heading to Prague on Friday for the stag do of a close friend.

"He left the house at 5am and it was by 10pm that night our time Gemma and Jola had a phone call from [Mr Richards' friend] Nathan to say that there was an incident that had happened with David and the whole family needed to get a flight as soon as possible as he was critical," they said.

They said that when they arrived they hoped Mr Richards would pull through his injuries. However life-support machines were switched off on Saturday afternoon.

Police said a rift broke out between two groups of tourists in the Národní třída area of the city, who at first spoke calmly but then: "There was a rift between them and one of them hit the other on the head with a bottle of vodka."

However, Mr Richards' family have called it a blind attack.

The family paid also paid tribute to Mr Richards by saying he had "the heart of a lion" and described him as "the glue to the family."

"He was an absolutely amazing father, partner, son, brother, and friend. There isn't a bad word to be said about him," they added.

Paying tribute, AFC Abercynon said the world had "lost a good man, a father, a son and a brother".

In statement online, it said it was a "loss for all of us, but the grief and sorrow that you as a family must feel are the deepest and most poignant and personal".

A fundraising page has been set up to support the family.

The Foreign Office have said they were supporting Mr Richards' family.