Surrey thugs convicted for a second time over attack of ex-Croydon footballer Robert Hughes

Four men have been convicted for the second time of attacking Robert Hughes, who was left with severe brain damage after the assault outside a nightclub in Malia back in 2008.
Maggie Hughes with her son Robert who was left with severe brain damage after an attack outside a nightclub in Crete
Maggie Hughes
Jamie Bullen2 October 2015

The mother of a former Croydon footballer whose son was left brain damaged when he was attacked by four men on a Greek island has spoken of her relief after they were convicted for a second time.

Ex-Sutton United footballer Robert Hughes, now 35, suffered life-changing injuries when he was viciously assaulted by four British men outside a nightclub in Malia, which his mother said had left with him no memory.

Maggie Hughes, 62, was in Crete to witness a one-day trial held after Curtis Taylor, Daniel Bell, Sean Branton and Joseph Bruckland, all from Surrey, appealed their convictions for causing grievous bodily harm in November 2012.

The judge upheld the convictions with each of the men given a three-year suspended jail term and a 10,000 Euro (£7,370) fine between the four of them, payable to the court. The men were also told they were free to return to the UK.

Speaking from Crete, Mrs Hughes told the Standard: "In the court it was like watching a film with foreign subtitles. We had no idea what was going on but you start to get an understanding of what is happening.

"When I heard that guilty verdict I just felt this relief because we took nothing for granted.

"This is what we came here for. As soon as this attack happened I was focused on getting justice for my son."

Mrs Hughes said her son would never recover from his injuries.

She added: "He knows I'm his mum but he has no memory of the past. He can't remember his brothers and sisters or when he played football at Fulham under Kevin Keegan.

"He joins in the conversation but he is inward. He doesn't say too much, everything has totally changed.

"Robbie will never be how he was before and I still long for those days."

Mrs Hughes said she has started a campaign to help families whose loved ones find themselves in similar circumstances while they are abroad.

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