COMMUNITY leaders joined the family of missing hostage Paul Wells at Blackburn Cathedral for an exhibition marking the third anniversary of his disappearance.

The final 18 photographs taken by Paul Wells while trekking in the troubled Indian region of Kashmir are on display in the Jesus Chapel at Blackburn Cathedral.

A candle was lit by The Bishop of Blackburn the Rt Rev Alan Chesters to mark the opening of the exhibition.

The ceremony was attended by Paul's parents, his sister Sarah Webster and the mayor of Blackburn with Darwen Councillor Florence Oldfield

Paul, of Bracken Close, Feniscowles, was captured by the Kashmiri separatist group Al Faran on July 3, 1995. The Provost of Blackburn, the Very Rev David Frayne, said the display would serve to make sure that Paul is not forgotten.

Paul's father Bob had the photographs developed after Paul's camera was returned with his other personal possessions. The 18 photographs were previously put on display in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's Blackburn office as a means of raising awareness of the hostages' plight.

Lack of information has led Government officials to agree with the Wells family's fear that Paul may be dead.

But Foreign Office Minister Baroness Symons has pledged that the quest to find out what happened to Paul and fellow hostage Keith Mangan, from Middlesbrough, will continue.

The campaign for information was stepped up recently when hundreds of leaflets were distributed through villages in the area around Srinigar where Paul was last seen.

Bishop Chesters hopes to meet the Bishop of Amritsar, the Rt Tev Anand Chandy Lal, at the Lambeth Conference of Bishops in Canterbury later this month to discuss the situation.

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