Stranded soldier flown back to UK from Poland

Brother accompanies crash victim in ambulance

By Eilidh Morrison

Published:

A Moray soldier who has been stranded in a Polish hospital for a month with serious injuries was expected to arrive home to the north-east last night.

The family of Lance Corporal Jim Dyer, from Aberlour, have been locked in a bitter dispute with the Ministry of Defence after it refused to pay for his return following an accident in Warsaw.

L/Cpl Dyer was hit by a car and was in a coma for 10 days, with broken bones, a fractured skull and a massive blood clot on the brain.

Military officials refused to help the 37-year-old engineer, who has served more than 20 years with the Army, because he was on holiday at the time and had not taken out travel insurance.

His brother Billy, 46, journeyed down to London on Thursday with a private ambulance from Ambulance and Medical Services UK in Inverness, who offered the family a £1,000 discount after hearing of their plight.

They met L/Cpl Dyer off a commercial flight from Warsaw yesterday morning, and spent the rest of the day travelling north to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

A Polish doctor and nurse accompanied L/Cpl Dyer during the flight, and a paramedic was present during yesterday’s 500-mile ambulance trip by road to Aberdeen.

Speaking during yesterday’s journey, Billy Dyer said: “He’s been speaking to me. It’s mostly gobbledygook, but some of it is okay, and he’s just been looking out the window the rest of the time.”

Medical staff in Poland initially said that it would cost £30,000 to make special arrangements to fly L/Cpl Dyer home.

Worries over the aftercare provision and lack of English speakers in his hospital prompted the family to make a decision to pay almost £20,000 to fly him home.

A bank account has been set up to help the family finance the costs of the trip. Anyone who would like to make a donation can contact the Royal Bank of Scotland at Dufftown on 01340 820239, and ask for an account under the name of Billy and Brenda Dyer, c/o Bring Jim Home.