EXCLUSIVE BY ELOISE WALTON and DAISY SAMPSON
THE MAN who rescued an eight-year-old British girl from her drunken mother has condemned the lack of response from the authorities in Portugal.
This man, who lives in Lagos but asked not to be named, told The Resident that nobody wanted to help him as he approached several institutions to care for eight-year-old Ariella d’Gama.
“I took her to the Portuguese Red Cross centre in Lagos to find help, but they said it was not their problem and they were about to shut for the weekend.
“They shut the door in my face.”
He also tried to telephone the British Embassy, but this was closed so he contacted the police.
“I had to fight and stick to my guns to get the police to do anything,” he said.
“I was questioned for around four and a half hours before the police believed my story, which nearly got me arrested.”
Contrary to reports, which stated that Ariella d’Gama was found wandering the streets of Lagos alone, The Resident was told by the man who placed her into care that she was found “in a sorry state” with her 44-year-old mother Stephanie Bysh in the early hours of the morning one day earlier this month.
“My housemate found Ariella dragging a big case along and holding her mother up,” said the man.
He added that his housemate saw that the mother was so drunk she could barely walk or stand, so he offered for them to stay at their apartment.
“Both Stephanie and my housemate like to drink, so they started having a good time together, but I thought it wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair on Ariella, so I had to do something,” he said.
“I felt sorry for the girl. She’s a bit messed up, but she’s a good kid.”
He also said that he contacted Ariella’s uncle, Stephanie’s brother, in the UK to inform him of what had happened and said he was shocked by his attitude.
“The family doesn’t seem to care about the girl or her mother.”
A spokesman for the PSP police told The Resident: “Ariella was taken to the Lagos PSP station on the evening of August 16 by someone whom I believe was a neighbour or friend of her mother here in the Algarve.”
The PSP spokesman added that Stephanie Bysh showed signs of being drunk when she arrived at the PSP station later that evening.
“Although we did not carry out a breathalyser test because the mother was not driving, it was clear that she showed signs of being drunk,” said the spokesman.
After being called by the police, social services took her to Refúgio Aboim Ascenção, a children’s home in Faro, for protection before being transferred to a more permanent facility for children in Loulé on August 19.
Luis Villas Boas, the director of the children’s refuge in Faro, told The Resident: “Officials from the department of social services brought an eight-year-old girl of British nationality to us at 5am on August 17. The girl stayed here for 72 hours and was then taken by social services to a facility in Loulé on August 19.”
The girl remains in care in Loulé and a source from the facility told The Resident: “We can confirm that the girl is here and that she is well. She will remain at our home until a court decides otherwise.”
After her daughter was taken into care, Stephanie Bysh returned to Pensão Baltazar, a guest house in Portimão where she and her daughter were initially staying when they first arrived in the Algarve.
A spokesman from Barlavento hospital said: “Stephanie Bysh was brought by ambulance to the hospital on August 21 suffering with kidney problems. She was discharged on August 25.”
A spokesman from Pensão Baltazar, in Portimão, said: “Stephanie is now back here but she is much improved, perfectly well behaved and is not drinking alcohol.”
He added that Stephanie Bysh “visits and speaks to her daughter regularly”.
A spokesman from the FCO told The Resident: “No official charges are being brought against the mother, who we believe is on holiday with her daughter and no other members of family.”
The mother is due to appear in Portimão family court on September 5 where a judge will talk to her informally about the events surrounding her daughter being taken into care.
*In a separate incident in May, three British children were also taken into temporary care at the Refúgio Aboim Ascenção when their mother was hospitalised after a night out in the Algarve.
Eamon and Antoinette McGuckin, from Maghera, near Belfast, left Portugal before they were due to appear in court in Faro to speak to a judge about the night in question.
