At first he thought someone was playing a practical joke. But a Barnet pensioner has confirmed this week that he has been ordered to fly to Greece to face criminal charges — four years after he was knocked unconscious while crossing the road on holiday.

Peter Packer, 67, of Ingle Way, North Finchley, spent two days in hospital after he was mowed down by a moped during the first night of his holiday in Chania, Crete, in September 1999. He and his wife Gillian, 61, had to return home less than halfway through their break with Mr Packer suffering from a fractured skull and cuts and bruises to his arms, legs and back.

The couple had forgotten all about the accident until a detective from Scotland Yard's extradition unit knocked on their door in July and told them Mr Packer was to face a jaywalking charge. He issued Mr Packer with a summons to appear as a witness and defendant in the case.

"My wife was knocked over with me and I was left unconscious — pushing the daisies up kind of thing," said Mr Packer, who is vice-chairman of Barnet Community Health Council.

"I spent two days in hospital. It was horrendous: I've seen better abattoirs. We had forgotten all about the accident, it had been wiped from our memory a long time ago. We couldn't believe it when we got the call, we thought they were joking."

The hearing was due to take place at Chania Magistrates Court tomorrow but the couple had to postpone their trip after Mrs Packer suffered a mini-stroke two weeks ago.

Yianni Sfakiotakis, Mr Packer's solicitor in Chania, said: "This is how long it takes according to our procedure here in Chania. Perhaps they could not find him, perhaps it was postponed. I have to get down to the details to see what has happened.

"He doesn't go to prison for this. He is going to pay some money. Why should he not come again to Crete? This is a minor thing. Tell him not to worry about this we have other heavy cases and this is not one."

At the moment Mr Packer intends to fly to Greece, at his own expense, to face the charges, although it is unclear what the consequeces would be if he simply chose to stay in the UK. The Greek authorities would have to apply to a British court for a legal extradition, but would be far from assured of being granted one for such a trivial offence.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance sees the UK Government helping European partners by passing on legal documents.

"The person concerned is under no obligation under UK law to comply with the terms of the document but will need independent legal advice as to the consequences of failing to comply with the laws of foreign countries."