In what appears to have been a drunken dare that went badly wrong, a British tourist died early yesterday trying to scramble under a rubbish lorry in a popular Rhodes resort.

Police said Matthew Benney, 30, had been among a group of Britons — who, according to witnesses, were drunk — standing outside a hotel in Faliraki, a seaside resort favored by young UK nationals. Apparently as a dare, he set off to wriggle under the heavy vehicle, which had briefly stopped outside the hotel. Benney had almost reached the other end when the driver, who had not noticed his antics, set the lorry in motion.

The young man suffered extensive stomach injuries and died in hospital. The driver, Antonis Kalligas, 48, was charged with manslaughter.

Once respected as mannerly visitors, drink-prone British tourists are acquiring an increasingly bad name in Greece. In July, the Association of British Travel Agents issued a formal apology after employees of a UK tour operator were caught staging an outdoors oral sex show on Corfu.