The family of a North-East holidaymaker who fell to his death from a balcony on a Greek island face a further wait after a court case against hospital staff accused of negligence was adjourned until September.

The relatives of 24-year-old Christopher Rochester were in Rhodes yesterday to see five Greek medics stand trial accused of killing their son.

But any hopes of progress on the case were dashed when one of the doctors and a nurse failed to appear before the court for the second time, prompting judges to adjourn the case.

Mr Rochester, a bar manager, allegedly bled to death unattended in a Greek hospital in June 2000 after falling 40ft from a balcony on the holiday resort of Faliraki, where he was visiting his brother Keith.

His family claim an ambulance took 40 minutes to reach Rhodes hospital where he was then "bounced about" on a stretcher and left lying on a hospital trolley, despite being in severe pain.

His friend, David Vest, desperately fed him water from his cupped hands while Mr Rochester lay dying in the ward, bleeding to death from a fractured pelvis.

A post-mortem examination held later in Britain showed Mr Rochester should not have died from his injuries.

Mr Rochester's family and North Durham MP Kevan Jones have campaigned for years to have the medical staff brought before court.

The family travelled to the island last September for what was supposed to be the start of the trial, but it was adjourned because one of the three accused doctors, Sergios Paulidis, had not been properly summoned. He was working on secondment in a Moscow hospital.

One of the two nurses was also absent.

They all face charges of manslaughter by neglect.

The same medical workers again failed to attend Rhodes Town Court. This time Sergios Paulidis was in Cypress. The next available date for the three judges to sit together is September 24.

Mr Jones, who flew to Greece on Tuesday to join the family for the court case, said: "His lawyers did turn up and they wanted it indefinitely postponed, but the judges weren't having that.

"Now the family will have to raise the money again."

Mr Jones said the adjournment has particularly hit Mr Rochester's mother, Pam Cummings, and his brother Keith, both of whom had prepared themselves to give evidence.

Keith, 28, said: "It's living torture. You build yourself up for what is supposed to be the final chapter and you get knocked back again for another four months.

"It's soul destroying but we will be back in September. We have fought for three years to get justice for Christopher, so we'll get through another four months."

In the months since the last adjournment, Mr Rochester's mother, from Auckland, Chester-le-Street, his step-father and other members of the family have worked tirelessly to raise money to fight the court case.