Student and boyfriend ‘beaten by cleaner in Croatian hostel’

A student playwright has claimed she was beaten by a cleaner brandishing a metal bar when she refused to pay more for a holiday hostel.

Laura Denmar, 26, above, was treated in hospital for a gash to the head, a fractured hand and bruising to her arms during her trip to Split in Croatia.

Her boyfriend Jeremy, 39, was allegedly pinned to a wall by two men.

Ms Denmar told the Standard: “My head split open and I had to have stitches on the back of my head. I fractured my hand. I went to hospital and then the police station. It was not a good experience.”

The couple said they got the first plane home to the England, cutting their holiday short by a month as they “didn’t feel safe in Split”.

Miss Denmar, who is studying for an MA at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in north London, warned other travellers to double-check their bookings.

She made a statement to Croatian police and is in regular contact with the British Embassy.