LIFE is still on hold for the family of kidnapped Blackburn student Paul Wells -- five years after he was snatched by a murderous gang of terrorists while trekking in Kashmir.

More than two years ago, Paul's family accepted that he was never coming home -- but his father Bob today said the family cannot grieve properly until they find out what has happened.

Mr Wells and his wife Dianne, of Bracken Close, Feniscowles, believe their son was murdered six months after his capture. But Mr Wells still holds out hope that his son's body will be found and that one day the family can lay him to rest.

Mr Wells, pictured with a photo of his son, today called for the Indian authorities to go back and conduct a second search of an area where he thinks his son's body might be found.

Photography student Paul, who will be 29 if he is still alive today, was captured along with three other Westerners by Kashmiri militant group Al-Faran on July 4, 1995.

Paul's girlfriend Cath Moseley was among two other tourists who were seized at gunpoint but released immediately in mountains 60 miles east of Srinigar.

A month later, fellow captive Hans Ostro, from Norway was found beheaded, along with a note threatening the lives of the five remaining hostages. Mr Wells, who still keeps in touch with the families of Paul's fellow hostages, recently went to the Foreign Office in London to discuss scientific evidence after the Indian Government claimed it had found Paul's body. Experts from the Metropolitan Police dismissed the claim after carrying out their own tests.

Paul's father believes the Indian authorities should go back to the Magharm Valley, an area which was searched once in summer 1997 without any results. He said: "Just because they have searched it once, does not mean they won't find something if they go back again."

Mr Wells said: "It is five years since Paul was kidnapped and we are still no nearer to finding out where Paul is. We can never put it behind us until we know what has happened to Paul.

"I am amazed that with all the people working on this case, we still cannot get to the truth."

Paul's father is still far from convinced that travellers to the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region get proper advice about the risks they face. He said Paul, who was on a break from university in Nottingham, was not aware of the dangers when he entered the troubled area to take photographs.

At times during the last five years, Mr Wells feels his son has become a political pawn. It hurts him to see Paul's kidnap summed up in a few sentences when national newspapers report on Kashmir. The Wells family will never be able to dismiss his disappearance so easily. For until the full facts finally emerge, they still have a son, a brother, who cannot be laid to rest.