Friends and family of a murdered Tadley teenager have launched a fund to help their fight to bring his killer to justice.
The grieving parents of 18-year-old Robert Sebbage, who was stabbed to death in a brawl in Greece last year, are facing massive legal bills as his alleged killer is taken through the Greek courts.
Speaking to the Basingstoke Observer, mum Rhian, 45, and dad Andy, 57, said they fear they will not be able to pay up to £60,000 for lawyers to help them see justice done for Robert.
The newly launched Out of the Blue fund will also seek to cover costs should the family need to travel to Greece to give evidence, and in the longer term offer support to others facing similar tragedies.
“Our main worry is that if we are not involved it will be swept under the floorboards and justice will not be done,” Rhian said.
“If I had it my way, I would not be doing it, we should not have had to. But having an English speaking lawyer working with us, we will be able to get some information. It helps in respect that we know something is being done.”
Robert was killed on the island of Zante on July 13 after he was involved in a fight with a 21-year-old Greek taxi driver, two days before he was due home.
The former Hurst Community College student was on a dream holiday with eight school friends.
According to evidence given at a coroner's inquest in October, Robert and five pals enraged a waiting cab driver with a laser pen, prompting him to threaten them with a baseball bat.
As the group continued to shine the laser at the driver, he responded by charging the group with a four-inch flick knife concealed between his clenched fist.
Robert died in hospital with a single stab wound to the chest.
Friends Jordan Manson, Callum Lane, Sam Champion and Steven Granston were also wounded in the brawl. Seven months on Robert’s parents still say they are struggling to come to terms with tragedy.
Dad Andy said: “We still can’t get our head around what happened, even this far down the line. We will never get closure and it won’t get easier.”
Since setting up the fund with Andy Granston, 50, father of wounded Steven, the trio said they were planning a host of community events to kickstart their fundraising drive.
On May 6 they will formally launch the fund with a series of football tournaments at Barlows Park football ground, the home of Tadley Calleva FC.
Football fan Robert, who made headlines walking out as a mascot with David Beckham at England’s friendly against Brazil in 2007, regularly played with the squad’s youth outfit until he was 14-years-old.
And in a tribute to the youngster, his friends and two brothers Martin and Steven, will play in a headline 'lads vs dads' match.
And Andy Granston said they will have a fete alongside the tournament to encourage Tadley residents to support their cause.
“One of the amazing things in the aftermath was the amount of support and messages we all received,” he said.
“Tadley is a really small town but so many people here rallied around us in the early days, and we hope to get that resurrected this time around.”
The Out of the Blue fund is currently developing a website. To get in touch, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
