A widow whose husband died of a major heart attack while holidaying on a Greek island has accused holiday reps of adding to her misery.

Distraught Bridget Lippett felt abandoned by reps and the Greek authorities when her 64-year-old husband Kenney died while swimming off a beach in Crete.

Mrs Lippett, 51, of Valebridge Drive, Burgess Hill, has demanded an apology from Portslade-based travel firm Manos Holidays, which organised the trip.

Self-employed plumber Mr Lippett started spluttering and holding his leg shortly after plunging into the sea at Rethymnon on August 30.

Moments later he was dead. It was the fourth day of the couple's two-week holiday and just weeks before they were due to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.

Mrs Lippett said: "It happened very suddenly. At first I thought he had swallowed water but it turned out to be a massive heart attack.

"He was a very fit man with no medical history problems."

She and friends Bill and Barbara Smith, from Saltdean, Brighton, spent the next four days stuck on the Greek island trying to book a flight home.

Bridget said: "It was dreadful because the authorities were not helpful at all and there was the constant language barrier.

"When Kenney was taken to hospital and we were told he had died, the police were only interested in seeing our passports.

"Our holiday rep from Manos Holidays was not really interested in helping us and basically left us to it.

"They did offer us two flights, via Athens, back to either Heathrow or Manchester but we said we needed to go to Gatwick.

"It was left to my friend Bill, who spent hours on the phone trying to get a flight back to Gatwick. Eventually he got us on a flight the next day.

"Without him and his wife Barbara I would have been totally abandoned. They were a tower of strength."

Travel firms running trips to Greek islands have come under mounting criticism in recent months.

West Sussex teenagers Hayley Price and Stephanie Green last month told The Argus how they were forced to flee Faliraki in Rhodes after their two-week holiday turned into a shambles.

Now Mrs Lippett has warned other holidaying couples not to travel by themselves in case they suffer a similar tragedy.

A spokesman for Manos said: "The care of all customers whilst in the resort is of the utmost importance to Manos Holidays.

"In the unfortunate circumstance of an event occurring we always do our best to ensure that all guests have the assistance of our overseas representatives."

Hundreds of friends and family are expected to attend Mr Lippett's funeral at the Sussex and Surrey Crematorium in Balcombe Road, Worth, on Tuesday at noon.