Middlesbrough pensioners return to UK after Thailand attack

A couple who feared they would be sent to prison after they were attacked by neighbours in Thailand have been allowed to return to the UK having been fined.

Mary Byrne, 69, and her husband Des, 77, said they were punched and kicked in a dispute over a small garden after emigrating to Asia.

They said they acted in self-defence but feared they would be jailed when Thai authorities said they and their assailants would face charges.

“Being back in Middlesbrough and seeing the fabulous countryside, it’s absolutely wonderful,” said Mrs Byrne. “We couldn’t be happier.”

Last month the couple were issued with a fine instead of a prison sentence and had their passports returned to them.

They have now abandoned their plans to retire in Thailand and are instead looking at houses in Middlesbrough.

The fracas in which they were hurt, in December 2023, was captured on CCTV.

They said they were “brutally attacked” and Mr Byrne was knocked unconscious.

“I don’t remember him hitting me when I was on the ground,” Mr Byrne said.

“I gradually came to. I didn’t realise how much he’d hit me until we looked at the video.”

Since getting back to England the couple have stayed with a family in Berkshire but plan to settle back on their native Teesside once they find a home.

Mrs Byrne said: “We are recovering and coming home has made it so much easier. We’re elated, the emotions are so high at being back at home.

“I wish we’d never gone to Thailand but we can’t turn the clock back and Des and I are going to have a wonderful retirement together.”

The couple thanked people on Teesside who supported them through their ordeal and lobbied MPs and the Foreign Office for support.