THE father of a diver who is presumed to have drowned while searching a wreck overseas has spoken of his sadness.

Father-of-seven Tom Swain said the family would be in limbo until the body of missing Paul Swain is found and brought home.

The 82-year-old, from Greatham village, near Hartlepool, said he felt disappointed that the search for Paul had been called off by the authorities in Malta, with no plans to resume it.

“We have not heard anything,”

he said.

“We are meeting two of his pals that were with him in Malta on Friday afternoon and we hope to be able to find out a bit more information then.

“We can’t get what’s happened into our heads. He had been diving for a lot of years and he was even an instructor in his spare time.

“He knew what he was doing.”

Paul, 49, flew to Malta at the end of last month to explore the wreck of the MV Xlendi, off the island of Gozo.

He and nine others from the Sub Aqua Sports Association, in South Hetton, County Durham, were diving to the wreck, which is an old ferry that has become an attraction.

However, during a dive on Monday of last week, Paul failed to resurface and within minutes a rescue mission was launched, involving emergency services, volunteers, and the Armed Forces of Malta.

The search was called off two days later after the area was deemed too dangerous for rescuers to continue, due to loose debris in the ship.

Since then, Paul, who lived in the Low Grange area of Billingham with his long-term fiancee Louise Walsh, is presumed to have perished.

Last night, Ms Walsh was not at their home, but Paul’s father said: “The search has been called off, so that means there cannot be an inquest or anything.

“It means we are in limbo. We would like to know what happened.

We would like to have him home.

“Paul was very bright. He was a cheerful lad, who would help anyone. I last saw him two or three weeks ago. He used to come to see me every week. It’s terrible.”

The authorities in Malta have said that since Mr Swain’s body had not been found in the wreck, it cannot be assumed that his body was trapped inside.