THE family of tragic holidaymaker Christopher Rochester said yesterday they had suffered a "rollercoaster of emotions" during a trial of five medical staff accused of neglecting him in his last hours.

The 24-year-old, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, died in Rhodes Hospital hours after falling from an apartment balcony in June 2000.

Three doctors and two nurses were eventually put on trial charged with manslaughter by neglect after a campaign by his family. The doctors were convicted yesterday, but the nurses were cleared.

During this week's case, the family suffered a blow when the prosecutor said he felt the defendants had not been negligent. They feared the medics would be cleared, but yesterday the judge convicted the three doctors - Michael Sokorelos, George Karavolias and Sergios Pavlidis.

Each of the doctors received a three-year jail sentence, suspended pending an appeal.

The case centred around claims that Dr Pavlidis, an intern, could not contact a senior doctor who was sleeping in another part of the hospital, so only transferred Mr Rochester to an orthopaedic ward, where he later died.

It was claimed it took 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive and Mr Rochester was "bounced about" on a stretcher and left on a trolley.

Dr Pavlidis claimed that Mr Rochester was too drunk to co-operate in any treatment.

Mr Rochester's brother, Keith, 29, said: "It's taken three-and-a-half years to get here and in 30 seconds we get the verdicts we wanted. I can't be pleased because Christopher should never have died in the first place.

"I don't feel we have won anything, but we have seen justice done."

North Durham MP Kevan Jones, who campaigned with the family, said: "The Greek authorities will have to take some action after this."

A British inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death contributed to by neglect.