Daughter of Benidorm attack victim in plea for answers
The daughter of a British man who died after being attacked by a stranger in a Spanish resort city in 2018 has renewed her call for information to help find his killer. Mike Rydings, 48, from Wythenshawe in Manchester, was celebrating a friend's 50th birthday and watching the World Cup at a bar in Benidorm when he was set upon in the early hours of 23 June. His daughter Hayley Barker said witnesses saw him backing away "with his hands up" before he was punched in the face, leaving him with a broken nose and serious head injures after falling on to the concrete. Mr Rydings was treated in a Spanish hospital before being moved to Salford Royal, but died 14 months later.
Ms Barker said an investigation by both Spanish and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had failed to find identify the attacker, despite GMP interviewing a range of British holidaymakers who were at the Hippodrome Bar at the time. "It makes me feel angry," she told BBC Radio Manchester. "My dad was stolen from me in such cruel circumstances, whoever has done this still gets to live their life."We can't move forward as such because we don't have justice."
She called for anyone who may have new information that could help to contact GMP. "It would mean the world - we'd actually get some answers, it's what we deserve as a family," Ms Barker said. GMP said while the investigation was the responsibility of Spanish authorities, they were ready to assist if required. She said her father was 5ft 10ins (1.55m), had a stocky build and was wearing a red Hugo Boss t-shirt and glasses at the time of the attack.
While Ms Barker said she had great memories of her dad being "the life and soul of the party" before his attack, her children had no memory of him. She said she was pregnant with her first child, a daughter, when Mr Rydings was attacked. "He never even got to hold her because of the condition he was left in before he passed away," she said. "In 2022 I had a son who would have been his only grandson, so that was very sad."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Martin Bryant's disturbing motive behind Port Arthur massacre is revealed as unearthed psychiatric reports expose mind of mass murderer
Martin Bryant initially planned to murder an older couple before he went on to kill 35 people in the Port Arthur massacre, according to psychiatric reports. Bryant made the admission in an interview with forensic psychologist Paul Mullen in the week after he tore through Port Arthur with two semi-automatic rifles in 1996. The 58-year-old is currently serving 35 life sentences at Risdon Prison Complex following the horrific attack. Dr Mullen's reports contained Bryant's confessions and a possible explanation for the massacre, including Bryant's admission he wished he had been gunned down at the scene. Bryant told Dr Mullen at his Hobart Royal Hospital bedside that his murder plot was hatched initially due to his hatred for Noeline 'Sally' Martin and her husband David. The pair owned a bed and breakfast called Seascape Cottage, just to the north of the former penal settlement. Bryant's father Maurice was desperate to buy the business and on several occasions sent his son to try and convince the Martins to sell. According to psychological reports, Maurice would tell his son about his disdain for the Martins, the Daily Telegraph reported. When Maurice took his life in 1993, Bryant came to blame the Martins, and believed the couple bought the bed and breakfast to stop his father from doing so. He told Dr Mullen the Martins were 'the worst people in my life'. Bryant initially plotted to kill the Martins about 12 months before the eventual massacre, but the plan escalated to a mass killing as Bryant struggled with loneliness and his inability to make friends. He told Dr Mullen all he had wanted was to be liked by people. As he approached the planned date for the massacre, Bryant became resolute in his plans. 'It was set in my mind, it was just set that Sunday,' he said. 'I wasn't worried about losing my property or never seeing my girlfriend again. It was just in my mind to go down and kill the Martins and a lot of people.' Psychology reports from Bryant's youth showed he was violent, tortured animals, and delighted in bullying his younger sister and children at school, Dr Mullen said. His IQ was 66 and he had a limited vocabulary. He was, however, aware of his own social issues, and bullying at school led to a pervasive fear people were laughing behind his back. Bryant also struggled to grapple with the passing of time and would conflate historical perceived injustices with the present day, holding grudges against perpetrators. 'He talked of the extent to which he thinks about the distress and rejections in the past. He said that he tries to live day by day, but acknowledged frequent thoughts about past rejections and what he recalls as victimisation at school by bullies intrude,' Dr Mullen said. Approaching the end of his 20s, Bryant began believing he had no future and feared he would remain lonely and rejected for life. He had troubles sleeping and feared his house was haunted by two women. His drinking increased and he became a daily drinker to pass the time and keep company with himself, talking to himself while drunk, according to his interview with Dr Muller. A year before the massacre, Bryant believed his life was not worth continuing and fixated on people he believed had caused him harm. He thought he himself would be better dead, but wanted to get square with those who had wronged him. Bryant initially had planned on strangling someone, but his fixation on weapons led him to hatch a shooting plan. His plan to shoot the Martins was made, but the plan for a larger shooting came to him in the weeks before the eventual massacre. He chose the location for its history of violence, labelling the former penitentiary as one of the most violent places in the country. Bryant took his guns down to Port Arthur on April 28, 1996 with the intention of killing others and getting killed himself, Dr Mullen said. The Port Arthur massacre remains one of the darkest days in Australia's history. At the time, it was considered the world's worst massacre, with 35 people killed and 23 injured by Bryant. Bryant was handed 35 life sentences and more than a thousand additional years' jail without parole. The shooting prompted significant gun reform under then-prime minister John Howard via the 1996 National Firearms Agreement. The laws banned rapid-fire guns from civilian ownership except under certain, restricted licences. It also tightened requirements for firearms licensing, registration and safe storage and established a government buyback of semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns.
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
John Swinney to host THIRD summit on youth violence epidemic in Scotland
The move comes amid the Record's applauded youth violence campaign, Our Kids ... Our Future - launched two years ago after we highlighted a worrying trend. John Swinney is to host a third summit on an epidemic of youth violence in Scotland. The First Minister has announced that the latest event will take place on Thursday, June 12. It will include the Justice and Education secretaries, Ministers for Children and for Victims and Community Safety, cross-party MSPs, youth workers and community programmes. The move comes amid the Record's applauded youth violence campaign, Our Kids ... Our Future, which was launched two years ago after we highlighted a worrying trend of violence among teens. As part of the campaign, we have demanded the Scottish Government to invest in young people and in initiatives to prevent violence. Since its launch, we have reported on the untimely deaths of Kayden Moy, 16, Amen Teklay, 15, and Kayden Moy, 16. Three teenage boys, aged 14, 15, and 16 years old have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Amen, an Eritrean refugee, in Glasgow on March 5. In recent weeks, three teenage boys – a pair aged 17, and a 14-year-old – have appeared in court charged with the murder of Kayden, who was allegedly attacked on Irvine Beach, North Ayrshire, on May 17 and died in hospital. And just last month, a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to five years detention after admitting culpable homicide following the death of Kory at Glasgow's Greenfield Park on May 31 last year. Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: 'Scotland remains a safe place to live. 'But more needs to be done to change the attitudes and behaviours of some who are at risk of violence, or young people considering carrying a weapon. 'There is no place for violence in Scotland and anyone who commits a crime will face the consequences. 'Our work remains focused on ensuring our prevention and punishment measures respond to the changing behaviours of young people. This includes ensuring good school and community engagement with young people, appropriate police powers and tackling the root causes of violence. 'At this meeting we want to hear the views of the youth work and third sector representatives on what more, or different, can be done, within the current financial climate, to help address this issue. 'The role of youth work and grassroots community intervention is key. 'We all must work together to help young people feel safe and realise that carrying a knife is never the answer.' Two previous summits have been held on the topic in recent months, however, the events were later slammed as "nothing but talking shops" by campaigners. A monumental sit-down was secured with Swinney after 15-year-old Kaylynn Donald and her mum, Vicky, from Ladybank in Fife, wrote a letter to him following Kory's death last year. Kaylynn, who was battered on a bus on her way home from school in October 2022, demanded the First Minister to act urgently to prevent further tragedies. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. In the letter, Vicky, 38, wrote: "How many more children have to die? "Kayden Moy's death is not a tragedy - it's a failure."
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Princess Diana's brother Earl Spencer 'frustrated at pace of probe into claims he was abused at boarding school in the 1970s'
Princess Diana 's brother is understood to be frustrated at how long police are taking to investigate claims he was sexually abused at boarding school. Grandmother Sally Jane Carr was arrested almost exactly a year ago after a Mail on Sunday probe identified her as the matron Earl Spencer alleges he and other boys were molested by in the 1970s. Ms Carr, 68, was last weekend seen walking her dog near her terraced home in the Midlands. In his memoir, A Very Private School, Earl Spencer, 61, told how a matron groomed him and other boys at Maidwell Hall preparatory school in Northamptonshire. Police announced they had opened an investigation on June 10 last year and the MoS understands Ms Carr was arrested the next day. She was released on conditional bail. In January, Northamptonshire Police confirmed its probe had widened, with another ex-pupil claiming to have been abused. The MoS understands Earl Spencer met detectives this year to give a statement about his allegations. But one ex-pupil at the school said the Earl has grown frustrated at the pace of their probe and is concerned they are 'dragging their feet'. In his memoir, the Earl, who attended the school near Market Harborough from the age of eight to 13, said the matron, whom he did not name, had 'first kissed me on the lips' before she 'promoted me to the second rank of her reverse harem: those she intimately touched' Northamptonshire Police said: 'Investigations of this nature are complex and often take this amount of time due to the large amount of information that needs to be collated and processed.' In his memoir, the Earl, who attended the school near Market Harborough from the age of eight to 13, said the matron, whom he did not name, had 'first kissed me on the lips' before she 'promoted me to the second rank of her reverse harem: those she intimately touched'. He wrote that he had established the matron married at least twice but he was unable to find her, suspecting she had moved abroad or was dead. The MoS was able to establish the woman was Ms Carr and that she became a nurse looking after patients with severe mental illness.
