Family call for more support following the death of a loved one abroad

The family of Nathan Osman, a 30-year-old father of four from Pontypridd who was found dead less than 24 hours after arriving in Benidorm, is calling for urgent legal reforms and improved support for British families dealing with the death of a loved one abroad.

Nathan’s body was discovered at the base of a remote cliff on 28 September 2024, a day after he arrived in the popular Spanish resort. Initially ruled a suicide by local authorities, Nathan’s family strongly contests this conclusion and has since led their own campaign for justice.

In a special episode of the Welsh language current affairs programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar, presenter Nest Jenkins travels to Benidorm with Nathan’s brother Lee Evans, sister Alannah Hughes, and brother-in-law, Ross Hughes.

The family described how they travelled to Benidorm soon after Nathan’s death and began gathering their own evidence—including attempted use of Nathan’s bank card in the hours after his death and CCTV footage which the police have not collected. As a result, the National Police in Benidorm reopened the case as a homicide investigation.

Fight for evidence

On the evening of his death, Nathan had spent the night on the Benidorm ‘strip’ with his friends, before walking home alone to his hotel. Lee succeeded in finding the final CCTV footage of Nathan walking alone towards the direction of the mountain at around 4am. Nathan’s body was found at 12pm later that day by an off duty police officer on a jetski.

Lee explained: “We had to fight for evidence and for answers. There’s still so much we don’t know.”

“We knew straight away that there was something untoward behind Nathan’s death,” said his sister, Alannah Hughes. “We’ve been through hell.”

“The lack of support from the authorities has been devastating.”

“He’s our brother. He is the most beautiful soul you could ever wish for as a brother, as a person, as a father, as a son…We just don’t want anyone else to go through this.”

Campaign

Despite the reopening of the case, the family says they felt abandoned by both Spanish authorities and the UK Foreign Office. They are now calling for the introduction of a statutory framework to ensure consistent and accessible communication in English for bereaved families, a named point of contact for each case, and financial assistance for repatriation and legal support.

Lee added: “We want families in the future to have a structure that we didn’t have. Nobody should have to do what we’ve done just to get answers.”

“We can look at the family, at Nathan’s children and say we’ve tried everything to get answers”.

Backed by their local MP, Labour’s Alex Davies-Jones, the family is campaigning for a statutory framework that ensures fair treatment for the families of British nationals who die in suspicious circumstances abroad.

On the relationship between UK and foreign authorities, Rebecca Gilmore, a travel lawyer from Hugh James, said:

“Every family’s experience will be different. There could be a time difference, for example there could be communication problems, the language barrier will always be a factor, and having a really good contact at the consular office is vital and I think that more steps should be taken to improve that procedure for the families.”

“Anything that can be done to improve the situation for UK nationals when they suffer injury and fatality abroad has to be welcomed, but I think there can be improvements made with communicating with the family back home, and the authorities back home, the police and with the coroner as well.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office responded: “Our staff stand ready to support British nationals around the world. In any given year, we support around 20,000 British nationals and their families. In cases of British nationals who die abroad, we can provide personalised support including practical information regarding processes in different countries.”

The National Police in Benidorm have declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Y Byd ar Bedwar is available to watch on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer. English subtitles are available.