THE father of Blackburn hostage Paul Wells is hoping a documentary series about his son's disappearance will prompt the release of new information about the case.

Bob Wells and relatives of Paul's fellow captive, Keith Mangan from Middlesbrough, were filmed for the programme on their last fact-finding visit to Kashmir in November.

Journalist Sean Langan had planned to spend a few weeks in the region following the families' search for information about what happened to Paul and Keith after they were kidnapped by Kashmiri militants in July 1995, along with four other Westerners.

He ended up staying for five months and the film he shot in Kashmir has been turned into a series of three documentaries to be broadcast on BBC2 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Bob Wells has not yet seen the footage but said he was grateful for the media interest in his son's disappearance as his own trips to Kashmir had not produced any hard evidence about what happened.

"If there was a feeling we could get something out of it, then I would go back tomorrow.

"But to go and see the same faces and be told the same half-truths or no information whatsoever is stressful," he said.

"This is where these programmes come into their own because they are doing it for you.

"They are asking questions and they should be demanding answers." Mr Wells, of Bracken Close, Feniscowles, said he thought Sean Langan was very brave to have spent so much time in Kashmir.

"I didn't ever feel myself to be in any personal danger but there is an atmosphere about the place," he said.

"It is bad enough for a month when you are being chaperoned by the local police but to be there for nearly six months on your own must be very, very difficult."

Investigations into the kidnapping are continuing but Mr Wells said: "The information they bring back is pretty much the same as they have been bringing back for the last couple of years.

"It states that the hostages were killed in December/January 1995/96 and it is unlikely we will see them again.

"We need people in Kashmir to be aware that these lads disappeared in their country while they were on holiday and they have an obligation to solve the problem.

"There must be some way of getting the truth. That is all we ask."

Video Diaries: Nightmare in Paradise starts at 11.15pm on BBC2 on Monday.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.