A COUPLE, whose son was killed in a bizarre accident in Kenya in 2000, are stepping up their fight to find out exactly what happened.

Nick Robinson, 33, died when he was electrocuted as he tried to fix a water pump in a well at a luxury block of apartments on the paradise island of Lamu.

He was a talented photographer, working for national newspapers and magazines and highlighting problems in African countries.

His parents, Chris and Elspeth Robinson, who have moved to Darlington from Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond, have never had satisfactory answers.

Mr Robinson is now suing the owner of the apartments, Prince Michael von Lichtenstein, and the management company for failing in their duty of care.

He said: "Initially the police treated it as a murder case, because they could see no evidence of electrocution. But later evidence showed he had taken a shock.

"It appears he survived the shock, but, due to the fact he was not being monitored, he was left to drown.

"The only witness was an 11-year-old London boy on holiday and his father will not allow us to question him. There was an inquest in Kenya and statements were taken and we want to see the evidence which was submitted."

Now he is taking his case directly to the Minister of Justice in Kenya.

"We have irrefutable evidence of corruption, but there is now a new regime in place, which has pledged to fight that," he said.

When he flew out in 2000 he was given a death certificate and a burial permit saying his son had been electrocuted, before an autopsy.

"When we brought Nick's body back to Britain a second post mortem was carried out at Northallerton.

The North Yorkshire pathologist concluded that his son had drowned.

"Three-and-a-half years on, the coroner has no more information from the Kenyan end than I brought back originally."

Nick Robinson's wife, Sue, comes from Ripon, and they have a son, Joshua, who is now five years old.

"We all feel pretty devastated by this," said Mr Robinson. "We are a very close family and we all need to move on. We feel we need closure and that will only come with a full inquest here.

"If the people we are suing don't settle out of court, my daughter-in-law will have to go out to Mombasa and give evidence. We have paid out £30,000 in trips out there and haven't received a bean. They have given us no support whatsoever and don't want us to know what happened."

The coroner's office confirmed that the Kenyan government was taking an unusually long time to supply the paperwork it needed.