Greek woman 'sets fire' to Briton's genitals

A young Greek woman, Marina Fanouraki, has become an overnight national hero after setting fire to the genitals of Stuart Feltham, a 20-year-old Briton who she claims tried to sexually assault her while drunk in a crowded bar.

Miss Fanouraki, 26, from the fiercely proud island of Crete then turned herself over to police and the courts to be put on trial for what she claimed was her "right to self-defence".

She will face a magistrate today to see whether the case will go to trial on charges of causing bodily injuries and of endangering private property. Mr Feltham, from Swindon, Wiltshire, is in a private clinic in Heraklion, the capital, being treated for second degree burns.



According to a police statement the incident occurred on Wednesday night at the Electra bar on the busy Mallia coast that is dominated by young Britons. Ms Fanouraki is said to have claimed the British reveller took down his trousers and started acting obscenely. He then "forcefully fondled" the Greek woman, who has been dubbed the "Cretan heroine" by local media.

After asking him to stop harassing her, she told police, she poured Sambuca, an aniseed liqueur, on him. This again allegedly failed to stop his advances, so she seized a lighter and set fire to the alcohol.

The clinic was under discreet police guard, police sources said. However, the magistrate and prosecutor unanimously agreed to set the woman free pending trial, an indication that they were prepared to entertain her argument that she had "acted in justified self-defence".