Dehydration causes British student to hallucinate and plunge over cliff on bike

A British student is recovering in hospital after falling 65 feet over a cliff during a cycling holiday in Croatia. Luke Sheppard, aged 23, is believed to have suffered hallucinations due to severe dehydration as temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius.

Luke, from Seaford, East Sussex, was at the start of a three-week cycling holiday with friends when the incident happened, reports The Sun.

The newspaper adds that a friend named only as Geoffrey noticed he was missing from the group and went back to find him lying stunned in a bush.

Discovering that Luke had swallowed his tongue, Geoffrey enlisted the help of a local shopkeeper to call paramedics. The art student is now recovering in hospital in Dubrovnik, and his father and brother have flown out to be at his bedside.

Luke’s mother Linda told The Sun: "I've been told he hallucinated and blacked out in the heat. When he was taken to hospital he had two seizures and was put on a ventilator. At first it was feared he had brain damage but he's now officially out of a coma and can recognise his dad and brother.

"He's responding to what people say. His speech is slurred but we are very hopeful."

She added: "I can't thank Geoffrey enough. Without him it could have been a very different ending."