Face of academic mauled to death by wild dogs on a Greek holiday
THIS is the British tourist savaged to death in a horrific attack by a pack of wild dogs in Greece.
Retired archaeology lecturer Celia Hollingworth made a frantic phone call to her family in the UK on Thursday to say she was badly injured and being mauled.
Greek authorities were alerted when the 62-year-old’s mobile phone signal cut out, and rescue teams found her remains on Saturday.
A senior Greek police officer said: ‘It was a tragic sight. Her body was found shredded to pieces, some of it devoured. Even experienced forensics crews were shocked by the harrowing sight.’
Investigators said marks on her body were consistent with being attacked by dogs.
Miss Hollingworth, who lived alone and was unmarried, was hiking back from an archaeological site in northern Greece, near the Turkish border, when she was attacked.
She had been staying with relatives in the nearby town of Maroneia
‘Harrowing sight’
for about a fortnight and was due to stay in Greece for another month.
Miss Hollingworth lived in a semidetached house in a cul-de-sac near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, where neighbours said she was ‘always doing things for people’.
Andrew Otto, 54, said: ‘Celia was always very friendly. She told us she was going to Greece about five weeks ago. That was the last we heard from her. She didn’t give a lot away about herself but she was always active in the community and would often go round with petitions.’
Alan Clifford, 74, added: ‘She was a quiet person, and always doing things for other people. There is a lot of people who you can say were kind or friendly, but Celia had the works to prove it.’
Locals in the mountainous area said she may have been attacked by guard dogs which protect farms. There are an estimated million stray dogs in Greece because many were abandoned during the financial cri- sis. Miss Hollingworth was a member of the Bristol Greece Solidarity campaign which supported those struggling with austerity following the European financial crisis.
Wiltshire Police said: ‘We are working closely with officers in Greece regarding the formal identification of the deceased. We are also working with colleagues from the Foreign Office and supporting her next of kin at this difficult time.’
The Foreign Office said: ‘We are in contact with Greek police in relation to a British woman missing in northern Greece since Thursday.
‘We are also providing consular assistance to her family.’