FAMILIES unhappy at the help they received after loved ones died abroad boarded an open top double-decker bus to get their message across.

Campaigners visited nine foreign embassies and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), all in London, to hand in letters highlighting individual cases.

The event was organised by Julie Sheppard, whose son Andrew Watt, from County Durham, was found dead in a French country lane in 2010.

She said: "We reached a lot of people in the streets - they looked, they read the banners and they listened to what we were shouting.

"We are making people aware of this serious issue - the lack of help the majority of families experience when a loved one dies abroad. We want change now and for the future."

Mrs Sheppard said the families received a mixed response, with some embassies welcoming the protestors but others refusing to meet group members.

"Most of the embassies were supportive and accommodating, then there was the French embassy, who would not let us hand in our letter as they felt it was a security risk.

"When we started to shout 'we want the truth' about Andrew's death in French and English, they called the police because they were concerned for the safety of the embassy staff - it was ridiculous."

During the protest, the group handed in a letter to the Argentinian embassy on behalf of Ian and Ceri Mather, from Bishopton, near Stockton, whose 28-year-old son David died on New Year's Eve 2008 while paragliding in the country,

"As a group of families, we are not giving up and so at least every six months we will demonstrate until they really do start to listen," said Mrs Sheppard, who received a letter from Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond after the protest.

He stated that the FCO took assisting bereaved families very seriously, adding: "We are constantly seeking ways to develop our services and so consular officials have this year been conducting a review of our policies and structures.

"The aim is to identify whether there are changes we can make in order our service to bereaved families."

Mr Watt, 31, from Durham City, was found dead about a mile from Vimarce, near Laval, in north-west France, in September 2010.

French doctors concluded that the former Durham Johnston School pupil died of heart failure, however his family have questioned the judgement amid conflicting evidence.