THE family of a 24-year-old man who died in Greece have told of their horror after receiving another man's kidney three months after his body was flown home to them.

Christopher Rochester's parents are set to take legal action after DNA tests revealed the organ returned to them was not his.

The barman died last year following a 40ft plunge from his balcony on the island of Rhodes.

Doctors in Greece say the Chester-le-Street man died from hypovolaemic shock, but last summer a North-East pathologist claimed his death could have been avoided after conducting a post-mortem examination at Dryburn Hospital.

The news that a kidney had been removed for toxicology tests heaped further misery on the family, but when Greek authorities returned a kidney they paid for tests to ensure it was Christopher's.

His mother, Pam Cummings, of the Garden Farm Estate, Chester-le-Street, said: "We are absolutely devastated by these findings. This is our worst nightmare come true.

"At this stage we don't want to speculate on what has happened to Christopher's kidney, but we want a full explanation from the authorities.

"If that means taking the case through the Greek courts we will."

North Durham MP Giles Radice has backed the family's quest for answers