Richard Plummer, with girlfriend Indri, before his accident in Bali

by Chris Hunter

Lying in a coma in a dirty Indonesian hospital 8,000 miles from home, a former Maidstone schoolboy is battling on the brink of death.

Those closest to Richard Plummer are powerless to do anything but pray for him.

Evicted from her flat, pregnant girlfriend Indri has been sleeping in the grounds of the Bali hospital where her boyfriend has remained, unconscious and on a ventilator, since crashing his motorbike on Friday, July 1.

Parents Eric and June, both in their 70s and from Loose, have already spent their life savings trying to arrange medical care for their 32-year-old son – a former pupil of Loose Junior School and Oldborough Manor School whose travel insurance lapsed before his accident.

They say it’s down to us, the people of Kent, to step in and help wake Richard and his family from their nightmare by funding an air ambulance to Australia, where expert care and the chance of recovery await.

The good work has begun, and dad Eric, 75, is now by his son’s side thanks to an emergency appeal organised by Maidstone MP Helen Grant, which raised money for the family’s plane tickets.

He said: “On Saturday the priest was reading him the last rites. Now he’s back on dialysis.

“They started saying his organs were failing, things were not looking good, but we’re still hanging on hoping he will pull through.”

Richard, who has severe head injuries, was still in a critical condition today, and while he had shown some signs of slight recovery, experts say he is likely to die without better care and neurological expertise.

Richard in Snowdonia

“If we could get him abroad maybe his chances would be good,” added Eric. “All these things cost money which has to be paid up front.

“We’re in a terrible predicament. It’s absolutely the most awful nightmare.

"You’re hoping all the time that you will wake up from it. We’re both on Temazepam. It’s not just the fact he’s ill; it’s the fact we can’t help him.”

The cost of getting Richard the expert care he needs is astronomical but the wheels have been set in motion to achieve the task.

When Maidstone MP Helen Grant launched a campaign for the Plummer family’s plane tickets to Bali on Saturday, an unknown benefactor quickly stepped in to cover the costs until the £5,000 can be raised – a feat which has nearly been achieved.

The plan now is to get Richard to a hospital in either Darwin or Perth, Australia.

Due to his fragile condition he cannot travel in a normal passenger plane, and must be flown at low altitude by an air ambulance, with constant medical care.

It will cost £20,000 to get him to Darwin and £36,000 to Perth. From then the costs of intensive care will be £4-5,000 per day.

The people of Maidstone and the Weald have started the ball rolling, and with Helen Grant pulling strings, more people are joining the fight, including Maidstone-based Clive Emson Auctioneers and Andrew Shapland, managing director of Tourism Corporation Africa, who is helping to arrange for a hospital and flight from Indonesia.