THE East Lancashire man remanded in a French prison on suspicion of murdering his wife has gone on hunger strike in protest.

Supporters of Robert Lund say he has told the British Consulate in France, the judge monitoring his case and the French Prisons minister he will not take food again until someone pays attention to him.

Former Darwen man Mr Lund, 53, was arrested in November 2004 at the home in the south of France which he had shared with wife Evelyn until she disappeared in December 1999.

Her body had been found inside her car at the bottom of a lake five miles from the couple's 400-year-old farmhouse, in La Veaute, in October 2001.

The couple had lived there since 1997 after moving from their home in Winter Hill, Darwen.

Mr Lund had been interviewed twice by police before his arrest, and since November 2004 he has been on remand at a jail in Albi.

A bail application earlier this year was rejected at which point he was told he wouldn't face trial until next year at the earliest.

Last month, his brother Neville, who lives in Rochdale, claimed key questions about Evelyn's disappearance had not been answered by the police when they outlined their case to the prosecuting judge.

Based on that evidence, the judge decided to remand him in prison until his trial starts. Two subsequent bail attempts have been rejected.

Today, Lily Heige, who is leading a support group for Mr Lund in the La Veaute area of France, said: "He has written to the prison, the judge and the British Counsul about how he has been treated.

"He is unhappy about his conditions in the prison. There are three people in a two-man cell. He knows he may have to be in there until next year at least."

A copy of the letter he has sent has been passed to the Evening Telegraph by the support group.

It reads: "I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms at your deliberate and continued abuse of my human rights.

"To put three persons in a cell of this size is degrading an inhuman..........I shall be refusing food and medicines as a protest."

Janet Anderson, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, said: "I am very concerned by this development. It is high time the person responsible for killing Evelyn was brought to justice. The French need to get off their backsides and make a decision."

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