A British groom-to-be who died after collapsing in front of his dad and friends while enjoying his stag do in Benidorm has been pictured. Dad-of-one Oliver Holroyd, 29, from Halifax, was enjoying drinks at the Funky Flamingo bar on March 22 when he suddenly became ill.
Oliver fell backwards off a bar stool and became unconscious after hitting his head on the ground. Staff at the bar are understood to have attempted CPR for around 15 minutes, before an ambulance arrived. Medics then gave him a shot of adrenaline and attempted further resuscitation, but he could not be saved.
Oliver was due to get married to his fiancée Paige Whiteley next month and now his family and friends have shared heartbreaking tributes on social media.
“We miss you so so much Oliver Holroyd. Our beautiful boy, life is just unbearable without you, love you to the moon and back kid… Can’t wait until we’re all back together,” wrote his mum Karen.
Oliver’s partner Paige said: “My Oliver, I can’t believe this is real. This shouldn’t be real. I miss you so so much. My best friend, the father of our gorgeous little boy, the best dog dad ever, my fiancée, my soul mate.
“Nothing will be the same again but I promise you I will try my best for our little boy. I hope you can see us everyday and I hope I’m making you proud. I’m so sorry this happened to you my darling. I miss you so much.
“I love you with my whole heart, always and forever. Until I see you again, baby. You’re my Waterloo. Yours forever.” Paige also shared a link to a JustGiving page where Oliver’s friend Ben Capper is raising money for the Stroke Foundation.
Ben said he is running the Leeds marathon in memory of his pal, with the fundraiser reading: “On the 22nd of March our beloved friend Oliver lost his life due to a stroke at the tender age of 29. He’s left behind his beautiful fiancé and 1 year old. I’m running the Leeds marathon in his honour to raise money and awareness to the stroke association.”
Following the accident a Spanish police statement read: “We can confirm that a man suffered some type of medical problem and died at the scene. He was treated by those present at the premises and then by the paramedics who responded to the call. The medical causes of the death are unknown.”
Bar manager Gaston Luciano told the Mail: “I was doing CPR with the help of another customer, he was responsive for around 60 seconds and then there was nothing. We tried for around 15 minutes before the ambulance arrived, then they took over and worked on him for another 45.
They gave him a shot of adrenaline and connected him to a machine, they did everything they could, it was so sad. His friends were in shock for the first minute or so and then it hit them what was happening, they were emotional and crying.”
One eyewitness described seeing “several police cars” and two ambulances outside the bar, while another described seeing a large amount of blood running from his head.
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