THE Government has pledged to help relatives who are fighting a new battle over the death of their son.

The family of Christopher Rochester, who died while on holiday in Greece, have travelled to London to meet Foreign and Commonwealth Minister Baroness Symons.

Christopher, 24, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, died in Rhodes after falling 40ft from a balcony in June 2000.

An inquest in Britain ruled his injuries should not have been life-threatening, and he died after being left on a trolley in a Rhodes hospital without receiving proper medical attention.

Last September, three Greek doctors were found guilty of his manslaughter through neglect. They have since appealed and their sentences suspended until the appeal hearing.

But after years of legal battles and fundraising to fight their case abroad, the family are now facing new hurdles, as no lawyer can be found to take up their case. Under Greek law, the family must be represented by a solicitor who trained and qualified on Rhodes, to fight the appeal.

During their trip to London, the Foreign Office told the family it was a breach of basic human rights and pledged to investigate.

Christopher's stepfather, George Cummings, said when they returned home after meeting Baroness Symons they felt much more positive.

"Baroness Symons has said she's going to get the Foreign Office legal team on the case, because there's human rights issues here," Mr Cummings said. "If we turn up to the appeal and, through no fault of our own, do not have proper representation, it could be a breach of civil rights."

Mr Cummings said the only option was to find a solicitor who had trained on Rhodes and now worked in a different country.

The family are also still fighting to have Christopher's missing kidney located.

When his body was returned to Britain, they discovered the organ was missing. Three months later, one arrived from Greece, but DNA tests showed it was not his.

Now the family have found that the public prosecutor in Rhodes has closed the case on the kidney, despite there being no explanation. Baroness Symons has also pledged to help on this issue.