Academic, 62, killed by stray dogs in Greece
A RETIRED academic telephoned her family for help as she lay dying after being attacked by stray dogs while on holiday in Greece.
The mauled body of Celia Hollingworth, 62, was found by an emergency rescue team on Saturday, two days after she made her distress call.
She had been visiting an archaeological site at Mesimvria in northern Greece, close to the border with Turkey, and had decided to walk at least part of the way back to her guesthouse in the nearby town of Maroneia.
She was last seen at 4.30pm on Thursday by bathers at Petrota beach, close to the archaeological site.
Ms Hollingworth, from Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, worked at Bristol University. Local reports claimed she was also an Oxford University professor, although The Daily Telegraph was unable to confirm this last night.
She had raised money for Greek charities helping Syrian refugees and had supported a Greek trades union official who was facing prosecution in his home country. Ms Hollingworth was an official with the University and College Union, representing academics and lecturers, and was an active human rights campaigner.
When her family in London received the emergency phone call, relatives contacted authorities in the area and authorities began a widespread search before finding the body at 10.45am local time on Saturday. Her family is believed to be travelling to Greece.
There are reported to be more than a million stray dogs in the country after many were abandoned following its financial crisis.