THE family of a holidaymaker who died in a Greek hospital say they hope to spare other families the grief they suffered.

Popular barman Christopher Rochester, 24, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, died in Rhodes Town Hospital in 2000 after he fell from a balcony in the nearby resort of Falaraki.

He bled to death, and his family maintain that if he had received the proper treatment he would have survived.

Their campaign led to three doctors - Stergios Pavlidis, Georgos Karavolias and Mihalis Sokorelos - being convicted in 2003 of manslaughter through negligence and sentenced to three years imprisonment.

They automatically have an appeal under Greek law, and today Mr Rochester's family fly to Rhodes to ensure that the convictions and punishments are upheld.

Mr Rochester's mother, Pam Cummings, 45, stepfather George Cummings, 48, and brother Keith, 30, will be joined by his girlfriend, Maggie Jones, and her new partner and members of the trust set up to raise money for the campaign.

The hearing starts on Tuesday and is expected to take three days.

The doctors' sentences have not been implemented pending the appeal, and Mr Cummings said they were still practising.

He said: "We are very confident. We have been led to believe the doctors will not ask for the convictions to be overturned because of the overwhelming evidence.

"They have nothing new to put to the court. The best they can hope for is that the three-year sentences are reduced.

"When the convictions are upheld they will be struck off and won't be able to practise anymore.

"We want them to be put in prison. They will walk free when they have served their sentences - but Christopher can never walk free."

He hoped the doctors that took their place at the hospital would realise that tourists should receive the correct treatment.

He said: "We don't want any other family to go through what we have been through. If we don't stop them, it will happen again."

Mr Cummings, a coach driver, said the family had been overwhelmed by the generosity and support of people in and around Chester-le-Street, who raised more than £3,000 in just over a week for the family to hire two lawyers for the appeal.