Young British woman ‘may never walk again’ after fall from balcony in Thailand

A young British tourist is seriously injured and remains in hospital in Thailand after falling from a balcony on the popular party island of Koh Pha Ngan.

Maddi Neale-Shankster, a 21 year old beautician from Coventry in England, suffered a fractured spine and is receiving treatment to drain fluid from her chest following the accident.

The beautician travelled to Thailand with her partner for a three-week dream holiday which turned sour when she fell from a low balcony after ringing in the new year.

The sound of Maddi screaming woke her friend staying in a nearby room. The ambulance arrived between 30 to 40 minutes later and put her in a neck brace.

The injured beautician was treated at a hospital in Koh Pha Ngan and transferred to a hospital on the mainland in Surat Thani by a three-hour boat journey.

“It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime until Maddi fell from the balcony,” her mother Karen Moseley-Neale told The Metro.

“The prognosis isn’t good as she has fractures in her spine and has needed drains to her chest to remove the blood and water which will be there for at least three days.

“There’s a chance she may never walk again. It’s devastating.”

Maddi’s mother says the balconies at the resort – which she did not name – are to blame…

“The pictures we have of the balcony where she fell are outrageous, you would never get away with that in the UK.”

Karen says she was on the phone with her daughter just one hour before the fall and everything seemed well. Maddi’s luck soon changed…

“To make things worse, Maddi was pickpocketed on the night of the accident and lost all of her cards and money. She had been carrying her valuables because the security in their room was horrendous, it was a clasp with a flimsy lock on it.”

Karen flew to Thailand yesterday and will travel to Surat Thani today to visit her daughter in hospital…

“Maddi’s partner hasn’t left her side and has been given two plastic chairs to sleep on. They’ve got no belongings with them, it’s horrific.”

The circumstances around the fall remain unclear…

“Maddi doesn’t remember anything at all, her partner was woken up by someone shouting to him to come and get her.”

“I’d ask anyone who knows her to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.”