'Nuns' return to Bristol after Greek debacle

Hanham football players arrested in Greece for dressing up as nuns have arrived back in Bristol today.

Members of Hanham Athletic and Hanham FC were held in a Greek jail for nearly 48 hours for dressing up as "sexy" nuns said today they were "relieved to be home".

Seventeen current and former players for Hanham Athletic and Hanham Sunday league team were arrested in a bar in the seaside resort of Malia on Saturday night dressed in nuns' costumes and lingerie.

The team-mates, aged 18 to 65, were marched into court in the Crete capital of Heraklion on Monday morning, still dressed in the risque garb after spending 40 gruelling hours in a "cramped" and "disgusting" prison cell.

But all charges were dropped after the complainant failed to give evidence and all 17 were released.

Flying in to Bristol International Airport at 1am today on flight TCX727 from Heraklion, the bleary-eyed, but cheerful holidaymakers said they were relieved to be home, where they could put the ordeal behind them.

Club chairman Mick Underhill spoke on behalf of the team but announced their intentions to seek an exclusive media deal, so they could make a donation to charity.

He did however recap the events of their holiday – and confirmed team members were considering legal action against relevant Greek authorities.

Asked if he was considering suing Greek authorities, Mr Underhill, 59, said: "Yes, that is something we will be looking at."

The men were taking part in the Hanham Sunday Tour, an annual trip started in the sixties by the Sunday league team, which now plays in the Bristol Sunday League Premier division.

In previous years the men have dressed up as St Trinian's schoolgirls in Portugal and babies in Cyprus – but have never experienced any trouble before.

But the men found themselves facing charges of "causing a scandal by provocative acts and misrepresenting a uniform" when the religiously-themed costumes caused a stir in the predominately Greek Orthodox country.

Mr Underhill said: "We're very relieved to be home. The prison facilities were horrendous. We were put into one cell with eight concrete beds.

"We had been in the bar for 20 minutes when we were arrested and put in the back of a van.

"Fortunately the British Embassy came to our aid and were very helpful."

The men stood for a team photo under the arrival gates, before leaving the airport in a minibus, to head back to their homes across Bristol.

Malia has become a resort synonymous with rowdy and drunken behaviour during the summer.

In 2007 Malia residents staged a march against British tourists and the town was featured in a documentary Sex on the Beach that followed the exploits of a group of young British holidaymakers at the resort.