A MAN tortured by memories of agonising surgery without anaesthetic has joined a North-East campaign to persuade holidaymakers to boycott Greece.

Nigel Race described as 'torture' his appalling treatment at the hands of Greek hospital staff after what should have been a routine operation on a cut wrist turned into a nightmare.

In a chilling reminder of the fate of Chris Rochester, Nigel, also from Chester-le-Street, has never had an explanation or apology from Greek authorities.

Mr Rochester's parents have joined forces with North Durham MP Kevan Jones and MEP Stephen Hughes to urge holidaymakers to boycott Greece after the 24-year-old died in agony in Rhodes hospital in 2000.

He was neglected, misdiagnosed and left to die by a Greek health service that has yet to be brought to book.

Nigel, 30, revealed a similar story. "I had only been on Rhodes Island for two hours when I tripped up and cut my hand badly on a wine bottle as I fell.

"When I eventually got to Rhodes Hospital the doctor in the operating theatre said in broken English: 'I haven't got time to let the anaesthetic work - this is gonna hurt, a lot.'

"They cut my wrist open further and started pulling my broken tendons. I was screaming and swearing like you can't imagine."

That horror over, he was sent to the Greek mainland - to Athens' main hospital - because Rhodes didn't have a surgeon or the equipment to carry out the operation properly.

"In the ambulance to the airport we stopped to pick up a guy all mangled after a bike accident. His arms and legs were all over the place and his head was split open. He died twice on the way to the airport.

"We got to the airport and were put on an army Hercules bomber to take us to Athens. My drip was hooked to the parachute strap, and as we took off, it shot down the fuselage and I had to run after it to stop it ripping my arm out."

Arriving at Athens dehydrated, starving and slipping in and out of consciousness, he described a scene straight out of army hospital drama M.A.S.H.

"There were people with arms and legs hanging off in the corridor - all from car crashes. One guy had his leg amputated in front of me, then the bloody tools were wheeled past me on a trolley. It was a vision of hell." At one point a Greek orthodox priest read him his last rites before he was finally operated on - by a Greek doctor who trained at Shotley Bridge Hospital, County Durham.

And in an amazing coincidence, the doctor who carried out later corrective surgery at Shotley Bridge was the best mate, and next-door neighbour, of the surgeon who saw him in Greece.

MEP Stephen Hughes said Nigel's 'horrific' story, which happened in 1999, highlight's why travellers should boycott the Mediterranean country. Chris Rochester's parents continue their campaign to boycott Greece in Durham's Market Place on Saturday.