Covid: Westminster terror attack hero stranded in Istanbul hospital

A man hailed as "a national hero" for his intervention during the Westminster Bridge terror attack is battling Covid in an Istanbul hospital.

Tony Davis, 47, a boxing coach from Gateshead, was one of the first people to try and save PC Keith Palmer who was fatally stabbed in the 2017 attack.

He was coaching Bahrain's Olympic boxing team when he fell ill.

His friends, who say Mr Davis is alone in Turkey, are trying to arrange for an interpreter.

The former soldier had tried to save PC Palmer, one of five people killed when a terrorist drove a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge and then stabbed the officer outside the Houses of Parliament on 22 March 2017.

Mr Davis had been at a nearby community event with the British Lionhearts amateur boxing team before he rushed to help the injured PC.

Speaking in 2017, he said he had acted in a "split second" and insisted anyone "would have done the same".

Posting a photograph of himself in hospital on Twitter, Mr Davis, who lives in Darlington, said: "This is to show that Covid ain't no joke.

"I've been in this hospital in Istanbul for over a week now and whilst the staff are fantastic, nobody speaks English.

"This virus continues to suck the life out of me and I've just been informed that I need the strongest drugs.

"I'd like to thank my old Army pals and my ex GB Boxers family who have arranged for much-needed supplies, food, clothing and toiletries to be delivered to my hospital which is no easy feat. Respect."

Julie Cordon, of the charity Brainbox, which supports people living with brain injuries and which Mr Davis has fundraised for, is trying to raise awareness of her friend's plight.

She wants to find an English speaker to help Mr Davis and find out about his treatment and when he can come home.

"Tony is one in a million and I'm sure that everyone in the North East who knows him, and actually [people] across the world, would agree," Ms Cordon said.

"He's a very special person, a national hero in the true sense of the word for his role in the Westminster terror attack when he ran towards the danger.

"Communication for Tony at the moment is a struggle and he would like to have a clearer picture of his treatment and what is actually happening with him.

"He's not the same Tony that we knew - he looks very poorly."

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