Tributes to Greece stabbing victim

A British tourist has been stabbed to death on the holiday island of Zakynthos

Published: 10:37am, 13th July 2011
Updated: 4:37am, 14th July 2011

Friends of a former England football mascot stabbed to death during an incident involving two Greek taxi drivers on Zakynthos have spoken of the loss of a "one in a million" teenager with a "gorgeous smile".

Robert Sebbage, 18, died in the early hours after the incident at the island's popular Lagana resort. The two Greek drivers have been arrested and detained, local police said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed they are assisting the families of the victims.

Four injured Britons are being treated in hospital for injuries that are not life-threatening.

One Greek news website said Mr Sebbage had been with friends outside a nightclub when an argument started with the taxi drivers.

Reports have said the incident followed a laser pen being aimed at the drivers.

Another website reported that one of the drivers said after the incident: "I was annoyed because the young British tourists bothered us with lasers."

The two suspects are due to appear before a magistrate on the Greek island later. A 21-year-old is facing a murder charge and his 25-year-old colleague is charged with complicity to commit murder.

In 2007, Mr Sebbage, from Tadley, near Basingstoke, Hampshire, was chosen to be a mascot for the England team in a friendly against Brazil at the new Wembley Stadium and posed for photos next to David Beckham.

Aged 14 at the time, he was picked by the Rays of Sunshine charity because he suffered from a bowel disorder called Eosinophilic colitis and gut dysmotility.