'My dad died after a vicious attack in Benidorm and we still have no answers'

Wales Online

13 hours ago

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A British man tragically died after being viciously assaulted in Benidorm - but his family still don't know who attacked him. Mike Rydings had been on a lads' "trip of a lifetime", but it quickly ended in unthinkable disaster.
The dad, then aged 47, had travelled to the Spanish resort with his pals. But after a night enjoying a few drinks at a bar and watching the 2018 World Cup, he was attacked during the early hours of June 23.
Mike, a builder from Wythenshawe, sustained a broken nose and fell onto the ground, hitting his head and suffering horrific injuries. He had been set upon by a member of a group of five or six unknown men, reports the Manchester Evening News. Sign up now for the latest news on the North Wales Live Whatsapp community
Mike spent a month unconscious in hospital, with his then-pregnant daughter Hayley and sister Nicola flying out to be by his side as he lay hooked up to ventilator machines.
(Image: PA)
After being repatriated to Salford Royal Hospital, Mike spent the remaining year of his life unable to move or speak, in a vegetative state and needing around the clock care. He tragically died in August of 2019. He was just 48.
On what would have been his 54th birthday, Mike's daughter Hayley said the family has spent years in the dark and "unable to have closure without answers" as they issued another desperate appeal for information.
Hayley said: "You can't ever really move on, because you don't have any answers. It's been years and we haven't been told anything."
She added: "At the time, there were so many different witness stories. At one point we were told it was a stag party and someone in camouflage clothing. Then we were told it was a bouncer.
"One stated that, the night he was attacked, my dad had a drink and was seen backing off with his hands in the air when he was punched to the nose, which broke, and then he fell backwards onto his head.
"They said they have never been able to get the sound of him hitting the ground out of their head."
Mike, whose full name is Michael, was 47-years-old when he went on the holiday to the Spanish town with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday and watch the 2018 football World Cup. His group of 30 were on the Avenue de Mallorca strip and had been to the Hippodrome Bar when the lifelong Manchester United fan became separated from his friends.
In the early hours of the morning he became involved in a dispute with another group and was subsequently knocked to the ground and suffered catastrophic head injuries. There was an investigation by the Spanish police which concluded without anyone being prosecuted.
During the investigations carried out by Greater Manchester Police, detectives interviewed over 15 English holidaymakers who were there on the night of the attack.
They established that the man suspected of assaulting Mike was described as a white man aged in his 20s or 30s, with a larger than average build, 5ft 7ins to 6ft tall, who was possibly wearing camouflage clothing.
The attack happened in an area popular with tourists. Bars were busy with drinkers watching the World Cup and enjoying a night out.
Hayley, 36, added: "My dad's partner at the time got the call from one of his friends to tell her what had happened. When you hear that, you still never think it will be as bad as what we walked into.
"When I first saw him in the hospital and he was lying there with tubes everywhere it was so painful I had to walk back out. I was pregnant with one of my daughters, and I flew out the next day with my partner.
"Between me and Nicola his sister we kept going back and forth to make sure he was never on his own. It was so hard on us all. I had a young child at the time too, so it was really difficult."
Mike was flown back and admitted to Salford Royal Hospital. Despite surviving until the August the following year, Hayley said he was unable to move or speak, and that she had "already lost him" before his life support was turned off.
"He couldn't move, he couldn't talk and he couldn't breathe without a machine," Hayley added. "But there were days where it seemed like he was getting better and he'd take breaths on his own.
"It would build up our hope up and we thought he might be able to have some quality of life. But every time you got up there, you'd hit a brick wall.
"Only his eyes were his very limited communication via blinking. You never knew if he understood you or not. It was like we'd already lost him. He was such a proud person and for him to be like that... it just wasn't him. He was always out and about and active.
"My dad never got to hold her or touch my daughter because he was in hospital. In 2022, I had a son which would have been his only grandson. He had always wanted a grandson."
Greater Manchester Police confirmed there had been no updates in the case, which remains in the hands of Spanish authorities.
Hayley added: "It was like the Spanish police just thought a British man had gone over, got p***ed and started a fight. But my dad was not a violent person.
"We want to get this out there again, to see if anyone can remember anything or will speak out." Anyone who may have information or remember anything that may resonate from a trip to Benidorm in the summer of 2018 is still urged to contact police with any details they may have.
Mike had been wearing a red Hugo boss t-shirt on the night in question and was outside the Hippodrome bar in Benidorm Square when a fight broke out with a group of five or six men.
Anyone with information should contact the police's Major Incident Team on 0161 856 6777 quoting Operation Thurston. Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.