Police in India have told the family of murdered wildlife artist David Green that he may have been the victim of a botched robbery.

The body of the 53-year-old Darlington nature lover was expected to arrive back in the region last night.

The freelance artist is thought to have been shot as he painted a picture of a jungle temple near the historic town of Orchha, in central India, on Thursday.

Detectives believe Mr Green - a well respected figure among naturalists and conservationists across the region - was murdered during a robbery. They have yet to make any arrests.

Manmeet Narang, Superintendent of Police, said they had definite leads on Mr Green's death and had already questioned more than 40 known criminals.

His brother Michael, 56, who has travelled from his Cambridgeshire home to be with his mother, Edna, in Darlington, spoke to Supt Narang yesterday today. "It was the first time I had actually spoken to anyone over there about it. He seemed to think it was a freak incident. They are treating it as a robbery and murder," he said.

Full story in tomorrow's paper.