Mum's quad bike warning after son's holiday crash

The mother of an 18-year-old who nearly died in a quad bike crash on a Greek island has warned other holidaymakers of the dangers of renting the vehicles.

Alfie Moses, from Peterborough, was on his first holiday with friends in Zante when he crashed on 15 June.

The bricklayer was left with 12 fractured vertebrae, 11 broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, punctured lung and a bleed on the brain.

His mother Kayley Posnett said: "I told him I didn't want him to rent one but you can't stop them living their lives. I just don't want anyone else to go through this."

The travel association ABTA is asking young people to "think twice" before hiring a quad bike because of the risk of "very serious accidents".

Primary teacher Kayley was at her school's sports day when she found out her son had been in a crash.

"I burst into tears and fell to the ground," she said. "It seems he clipped something on the road, was thrown into a ditch and the quad bike nearly rolled on top of him. If he hadn't been wearing his helmet I think he would have died."

She flew out to be by his side in the hospital on the Greek island, and discovered that he was so injured "he could barely speak" and she "didn't think he was going to come home".

The family then discovered that his holiday insurance did not cover quad bikes.

The family started a GoFundMe page, which has raised £40,000 to cover his flight to Athens and then a specialist flight home to Peterborough City Hospital, during which he had to remain on a stretcher.

"I want people to be aware that most travel insurance policies do not cover hiring quad bikes," Posnett said.

"We had no idea and if it hadn't been for the generosity of everyone who had donated, I have no idea what we would have done. We are so grateful."

Kayley said she had received messages from dozens of parents whose children have been injured in similar accidents abroad.

"One of the nurses in Greece said it is like a pandemic there every year, with all these young people seriously injured on quad bikes.

"Quad bikes are so cheap and easy to rent, but they're so dangerous. Something needs to change."

Alfie has now been transferred to Addenbrooke's and his family are waiting to hear if he will need back surgery and whether the bleed on his brain will have any long-term implications.

"Young people must understand they're huge, powerful vehicles and hard to steer. I never want any parent to go through what I've been through, or any child to go through what Alfie's been through," Kayley said.

"We don't know when or if Alfie will be able to return to bricklaying so his future might be quite different, but we are just so thankful that he survived."

A spokesperson for ABTA said quad bikes may be fun, but they are also powerful pieces of machinery "which can also result in very serious accidents".

"Very few travel insurance policies will cover quad bike accidents, and remember, many policies will explicitly state what activities are covered rather than those that are not covered. If you have activities in mind for your holiday, check in advance if your policy covers it," they added.

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