Honeymoon shooting victim in a coma

Benjamin Mullany arrived at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, in the early hours of the morning after being flown home from the Carribean island where the couple had been on honeymoon.

Ironically, he is being treated in the same intensive care unit where his late wife Catherine did part of her training as a doctor.

Dr Pushpiner Mangat, the hospital's clinical director for critical care, told a press conference: "Ben remains critically ill. He has not required sedative drugs at any time over the last 24 hours, yet remains in a coma."

Dr Mangat said that if 31-year-old Mr Mullany remains in a coma it is likely doctors will proceed to brain stem testing.

Mr Mullany, a physiotherapist, has a fractured skull and a bullet lodged in the back of his head after the couple were attacked at the Cocos Hotel on the Caribbean island last Sunday morning.

Mrs Mullany died instantly in the shooting on the last day of their honeymoon. Her body is being flown back to the UK on a separate flight, accompanied by her parents.

Mr Mullany's parents Ken and Marilyn, who live close to the South Wales hospital, attended the briefing but did not speak and no questions were allowed.

Mrs Mullany, from Pontardawe, and Mr Mullany, from the village of Ystalyfera, set off on their two-week honeymoon after marrying at a church in the Swansea valley on July 12.

Earlier, Scotland Yard confirmed it was sending a team of detectives to the island to help investigate the shooting following a desperate plea for help from Antigua's overwhelmed police force.