THE father of hostage Paul Wells has met leading diplomats on the first day of his Indian trip of hope.

Bob Wells of Bracken Close, Blackburn, met Britain's deputy high commissioner David Carter in Delhi.

Mr Carter is helping to compile a list of Indian government representatives who may talk to Mr Wells about the kidnapping of Paul and three other Westerners more than a year ago.

Speaking from his hotel in Delhi, he said: "The government has changed with the recent elections so it's a case of finding people who know something about the history of the kidnappings and who may have had dealings with it."

Mr Wells is hoping he will uncover something new when he moves to Srinigar, the capital of Kashmir, at the weekend.

He said: "That's when I'm hopefully going to speak to people in the villages - people who may have seen something or know something that could give us a new lead."

And he is already fighting one battle - the heat.

"I stepped off an air conditioned plane at 12.40 in the morning wearing a shirt and sweater and it was 80 degrees. I've never experienced heat like this before," he said.

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