Georgia Harrison, 32, was arrested alongside her partner after trying to leave the Lexia Hotel in Antalya (Image: Georgia Harrison)The Foreign Office has issued a statement after a mum was slapped with a travel ban in Turkey during a trip for her boyfriend’s new teeth.
Georgia Harrison, 32, from Whitworth in Rochdale, was arrested alongside her partner after making the ‘worst mistake of her life’ while drunk in a hotel room last month.
The pair had spent the night celebrating her boyfriend getting his new veneers as part of the trip when she says she blacked out and smashed the glass bathroom screen.
After leaving the hotel without declaring the damage, she then claims her taxi was chased down and blocked in before police were called, where she was thrown in a Turkish cell and held there for several days with “hundreds of men.”
She has been slapped with a travel ban and remained in the country in the seven weeks since the incident. She claimed she was told to cough up £15,000 for the damage and, after ‘resisting arrest’ to have her travel ban lifted, appeared in court, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Georgia is desperate to get home to her daughter(Image: Georgia Harrison)What followed has been weeks of turmoil for the Greater Manchester mum, with Georgia previously telling the MEN she initially offered a sum of £3,000 and instructed legal representatives to try and fight for the travel ban to be lifted so she could return home with her daughter, aged 12.
The Foreign Office has since issued a statement confirming they are in contact with Turkish authorities over the mum’s travel ban, which has prevented her from flying back home to Rochdale.
An FCDO spokesperson confirmed: “We are providing support to a British woman who has received a travel ban in Turkey and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The Foreign Office also provides assistance abroad, including information on accessing translators.
The damage Georgia claims to have caused to the bathroom in the hotel(Image: Georgia Harrison)Georgia admitted last week: “I got drunk and I have somehow smashed the shower screen of the hotel room and damaged the room. [It was the] worst mistake of my life. Anyway it’s done, I can’t change it but wow am I paying for it,”.
Regret fills her voice as she says, “I know I did wrong and I regret being so stupid to have damaged the hotel, but I need to get home to my daughter.”
“I’m sorry I was scared and I just tried to get away from it by trying to leave. Yes it was the wrong thing to do, but I was scared and not thinking straight. Maybe if I didn’t, I would be in this mess. I know only I am to blame and my actions are the reason I cannot see my daughter.”
Since the incident, Georgia claims she has appeared in court and unknowingly signed an agreement to pay back £15,000 in damages, was originally denied a solicitor, and has also been unable to access her vital medication, which she only had a five-day supply of for her original trip.
Efforts to negotiate with legal advisors overseas have unfortunately not borne fruit, claims Georgia, revealing that the imposed travel ban remains in effect while the daunting fine hangs overhead. In her desperation, she has attempted to evade the restrictions by boarding a plane, taking a ferry, and even embarking on a day trip to Greece.
In a recent public post on Facebook, the mum revealed that she has now offered £10,000 in damages in hopes of finally being able to fly home, but she is still ‘no closer’ to a solution and desperately needs ‘to get home to my child’.
A GoFundMe page has been established to raise funds for Georgia to pay the fine and support her with costs while she remains in Turkey. Donations can be made here.