THE family of a North-East man killed in the Bali bomb blast flew out to the island on Monday to help to identify his body.

Ian Findley, 55, from West Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, was one of more than 30 Britons who died when the Sari Club was blown up on Saturday, October 12.

Ian jointly ran a garage in Craghead with his business partner and fellow holiday maker Ian Stafford, from Annfield Plain, who survived the bombing.

On Monday his brother Brian and sister Carolyn Rutherford arrived at the destination and were met by a representative from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a family liaison officer from the Metropolitan Police.

Two family liaison officers from Chester-le-Street and Durham police had helped organise vaccinations for Brian and Carolyn over the weekend so they could make the trip.

Det Con Caroline Lyall, a liaison officer, said: "As you can imagine this has been an incredibly traumatic time for the family.

"The fact that Ian's brother and sister are now out there means they will be in a position to see and hear first-hand what is being done on their behalf and those of other families in the same situation.

"Arrangements are also being made for them to see Ian's body later this week." It is expected to be some time before any of the bodies can be returned home because of the numbers involved and the fact that the victims are from many different countries.

Brian and Carolyn will be in Bali for the rest of the week and, as with other families, the Home Office has paid for their return flights and five nights accommodation.

The parents of another North-East victim of the blast, Clive Walton, had been on their way to visit their son when they discovered he was among the dead.

Mr Walton, a Sunderland ex-patriot who lived in Hong Kong, had been touring Bali with a rugby club and his parents, Sunderland City councillors Lilian and Jack Walton, had set off from their Sunderland home when they heard the news.