Heartbroken family of Scot who died on Prague holiday face £20k bill to bring body home

The heartbroken family of a Scots tourist who tragically died after going missing in Prague face a hefty £20,000 bill to bring him home

Joop Sparkes' body was pulled from the Vltava River in the Czech capital on Monday after a week long search.

The 29-year-old from Galashiels, was reported missing after jumping from a party boat into the water between 1am and 2am on Sunday, April 27. Joop had been on holiday with a group of mates before the tragedy struck.

Devastated sister Jodie Wilson flew out to Prague alongside Joop’s girlfriend Charley Maben and his aunt Gillian in a desperate bid to find him.

Now the exhausted loved ones face having to return home without Joop who could remain in the Czech Republic for several weeks, whilst they arrange repatriation for him to return home.

Jodie told the Record: “Leaving Joop in Prague is going to be the toughest thing.

“We are all feeling sick to the pit of our stomachs’, we are struggling at the thought of leaving but there’s nothing more we can do by staying here.

“If we stayed we would we wasting precious fundraising money and it’s needed elsewhere.

“The thought of going home is frightening because then it becomes a reality as for these last eight days we have all been living in a kind of bubble.

“We are looking forward to seeing our loved ones and friends but we know that at this point it will really hit us.”

Joop’s cousin Derek Wilson initially set up a Go Fund Me page to help with the cost of finding construction worker, Joop.

But now the online page is seeking to raise £20,000 to cover the cost of bringing Joop home and giving him the best send off.

Dez said: “We’ll all miss Joop so much we’ll miss his energy, he leaves behind this hole that is impossible to fill.

“When I started the fundraiser, I had a sinking feeling that this might not end well.

“I had to think about the worst case scenario and the thought of him not coming back was there for us all.

“I feel terrible for his mates, to go on a holiday and come back minus one of you is just horrendous.

“We now need to bring Joop home.”

Dez has told how Joop’s mum Roonie Wilson “feels numb” and won’t be able to accept what has happened until her son his home.

Dez added: “I had a sinking feeling that this might not end well. I had to think about the worst case scenario and the thought of him not coming back was there for us all.”

Jodie has thanked everyone who has supported the online fundraiser so far.

She added: “Without the generosity of strangers, we have no idea how we’d be able to get Joop home.

“We are eternally grateful to each and everyone of them.

“The idea of not getting Joop back home where he belongs would be heartbreaking.

“It’s scary to think where we’d be without all the donations that have so far been made.”

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