The distraught family of a North-East father missing in Bali lost their last hope last night as his friend returned home and confirmed he had identified his pal's body among the dead.

Ian Findley, a 55-year-old father-of-one, from Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street, had been due to fly home yesterday following a two-week break with friends on the island.

Instead, his friend Ian Stafford returned to Newcastle Airport alone - bringing with him the news the Findley family had dreaded.

Mr Stafford said that Mr Findley had shielded him from the full force of the blast - and that he had later identified his friend in the overflowing morgue at the hospital.

As he arrived at the airport last night, still in a wheelchair following his injuries in the blast, Mr Stafford said: "The hotel manager rang me and asked me to come and identify Ian's body at the hospital morgue.

"When we got there, there were just piles and piles of cremated bodies.

"Then we found a box with the name Ian Stafford and my best friend was lying there - it was horrible."

Brian Findley, Ian's 52-year-old brother, said the family were still waiting for official confirmation of his death from the Foreign Office, but had now given up all hope.

Speaking outside his mother's home, Brian told how the Bali trip was the second holiday this year that Ian and the group had been on and they were just trying to live life to the full.

He said: "Ian is as daft as a brush and he has always tried to live life to the full. This was his second holiday this year and the lads grabbed any chance they could to go abroad and enjoy themselves in a bit of fun."

Ian leaves a daughter Amanda, 26. His mother, Lorraine, 81, has been left devastated by the tragedy.

The panel beater ran his own business from a garage in Craghead, near Stanley, County Durham, for almost 30 years and was well known in the area.

DNA tests are now being carried to provide formal confirmation of his identity, but the results are expected to take a few days.

North Durham MP Kevan Jones is helping the family.

He said: "The family have been in touch with me and I have been working with the Foreign Office to try and get information, but it's a very agonising time for them."

A spokesman for County Durham police said a family liaison officer from Chester-le-Street police was with the family.

He said: "She is giving assistance to the family. It's normal procedure that the force provides for deaths abroad in these circumstances.

"They can help deal with the red tape."