Parents pray for Cambodia hostage

The parents of Christopher Howes, the British mines clearance expert who was seized by Khmer Rouge bandits a year ago, attended a midday service at their parish church yesterday to mark the first anniversary of their son's disappearance.

Roy Howes, 69, a retired businessman, and his wife, Betty, 70, lit a candle in their home in Backwell, near Bristol, at 7pm last night, and prayed for the 37-year-old Falklands veteran, who was captured as he led a mine-clearance operation in northern Cambodia. They requested that the nation should do the same.

"We are hoping that thousands of others will join us and pray for Chris," said Mr Howes. "If enough people are thinking of him and he is still alive perhaps the message will somehow find its way around to him."

Since Mr Howes' disappearance there has been no hard evidence that Mr Howes or his interpreter are alive. A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday: "Unfortunately there is nothing new ... There has been no proof of life for some considerable time ... We are receiving information from a range of sources, including Metropolitan officers on the ground and we have the support of two Cambodian deputy prime ministers."

There have been a number of conflicting reports about Mr Howes. Earlier this month, Hun Sen, Cambodia's joint prime minister, quoted military intelligence sources claiming Mr Howes had been killed. But last November, Cambodia's army commanders reported that the hostage would be freed "within days" by defectors.

Mr Howes is thought to have declined an invitation by the Khmer Rouge to go free to collect a ransom they had demanded, preferring instead to remain with his 28 colleagues. As a result, all 28 were released while Mr Howes and the interpreter were held.