THE mother of a man who suffered burns on a lads’ holiday has denied her son is a flasher.

Pauline Feltham, 46, of Sheerwold Close, Stratton, spoke to the Adver after it was revealed her son Stuart had been burnt on the last night of his holiday in Malia, Crete.

Reports suggested Stuart, 20, allegedly exposed himself to a Greek girl, who then threw a flaming shot of sambuca over his genitals.

However, Pauline said her son vehemently denied even speaking to the woman, let alone flashing his manhood.

She said: “He swore to me on his nan’s life that he would never do something like that.

“I said to him ‘If you did it just tell me – it doesn’t excuse what the woman did but you need to tell me’, but he is adamant he didn’t even meet her.

“I know that parents can’t know everything their kids get up to but if he says he didn’t do it I believe him.”

Stuart, the oldest of three boys, is recovering in a private clinic in Heraklion, the Cretan capital, after suffering second degree burns to his chest during the incident. He told his mother the woman threw flaming liquid at him as he enjoyed a drink with pals and bar staff at the Stefanos Hotel.

Pauline was working a night shift at Sainsbury’s in Oxford Road on Tuesday when husband Ian, 48, called with the news Stuart was in hospital. She said: “When he told me what had happened I was beside myself.

“Since then it’s been a constant stream of conflicting reports. One paper has said he flashed at the girl, another said she poured sambuca over his privates and set fire to him with a lighter.

“It is all doing more harm than good. I just want to set the record straight.”

Stuart, who has just completed a four-year plumbing course and started work with Malmesbury Plumbing and Heating, was on a two-week holiday with five friends.

Four of the group returned from the resort on Wednesday.

Friend Aaron Chapman stayed behind to secure the €190 fee needed before doctors would treat Stuart’s burns.

Aaron, also 20, will remain at the resort until the pair can return home following Stuart’s discharge from hospital.

Pauline, who is in daily contact with Stuart and the British Consulate, said she was hoping to fly to Crete this weekend to be at her son’s side.

“He’s just so isolated over there,” she said. “He should be at home where he can recover in peace.”

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed a British man suffered burns following an assault in Malia on Tuesday.

l A 26-year-old woman was expected to appear in court yesterday to face a charge of assault in relation to the incident.