Hundreds of pounds raised to help support Northampton tourists arrested in Spain after alleged bar fight

So far £700 has been raised on the GoFundMe page in just three days to support the group of friends who have not be able to return home for six weeks.

The six Northampton men flew to Elche, near Benidorm for a holiday, on August 28 and were due to return home on September 1.But after they were involved in a fight with a group of local men while watching a football match in a bar the lads were arrested on August 30 and later charged with resisting police arrest and with causing Actual Bodily Harm (ABH).

They concede that they were involved in an altercation but they claim they were not the initial aggressors.

The men, all aged in their twenties, remain in Elche where they are on police bail and have to report to a courthouse every month as part of their bail conditions.

Some of the men, who have already been in Spain for six weeks, have lost their jobs and face losing their homes in the UK.

Helen West, a relative of one of the men who has set up the GoFundMe page, said: "Please help me raise money to help these lads one of whom is my grandson keep a roof over their heads and prevent them sleeping rough in a foreign country.

"Any donation however small will help."

Relatives fear the men will soon have to sleep rough on the streets as they can't afford to pay for accommodation and food.

The Red Cross has offered them food and sleeping bags.

Today (Tuesday) Helen has commented on GoFundMe: "Wow thank you to everyone who has donated! We are now £20 away from two weeks rent!

"This is fantastic the lads have asked me to thank you all for your generosity and support for which they are most grateful!"

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: “We are providing assistance to six British men following their arrest in Elche and subsequent release on bail and are in contact with their lawyer and the Spanish authorities.”