Holiday makers pay fines to escape Greek jail

TWO Britons who were given jail sentences for stripping in public in the holiday resort of Faliraki have been freed after paying their fines.

The pair were released by Greek officials as a meeting was cancelled between tour operators and local authorities to discuss the behaviour of British holidaymakers.

Jemma Anne Gunning, from Frome, Somerset, faced an eight-month jail sentence for stripping off in a bar in the resort after winning a “Miss Bottom 2003” contest.

The 18-year-old has now been released from her police cell after paying around €2,250.

Jemma was led to the cell by armed officers yesterday after a judge said she had “insulted our Greek values”.

The stunned teenager, who had been working as a nightclub PR girl, told reporters: “I can’t believe this is happening to me. It’s a nightmare.”

Meanwhile, Matthew Maloney, from South Wales, who was sentenced to a year in jail after “mooning” in the street, was also free to leave the resort after his mother reportedly wired the money to pay his €3,000 fine.

Greek policemen were standing behind the 20-year-old as he pulled down his trousers on the first day of his Club 18-30 holiday.

Maloney’s mother, who did not want to be named, said: “He’s upset. This happened on the first day of his holiday and he’s sincerely sorry for what he’s done. But I don’t think he’ll be going abroad again after this.”

Tour operators, including First Choice and Olympic Holidays, were set to hold talks with local authorities following the arrests of several Britons for lewd behaviour.

The crackdown began after a holidaymaker was stabbed to death in a brawl and holiday reps were caught performing sex acts in public.

Since then, five holiday reps from England have been arrested for encouraging illegal pub crawls, but later released. Their employers have said they will keep their jobs.

Earlier this month, 29-year-old Matthew Benney died after being hit by a bin truck in the resort. Authorities are investigating claims he may have run under the truck for a bet.