Family push for son's body return

Gary Dunne was attacked by a gang of Spanish youths

The family of a man who was murdered in Spain two years ago are stepping up their campaign to bring his body home.

Gary Dunne, 22, from Old Swan, Liverpool, was stabbed to death by a gang of youths near Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol in March 2006.

Spanish officials say his body must be cremated, but his relatives want to bury him in Liverpool.

His father Steve has been collecting signatures in Liverpool to further petition Downing Street for support.

Spanish authorities have said the body needs cremating for hygiene reasons before it can be transported.

'Good advice'

Mr Dunne's parents are calling on the British government to put pressure on Spain to release the body for a flight home.

Mr Dunne said: "We handed 50,000 signatures to Downing Street on 11 July.

"While we were there, we had a meeting with Tom Fletcher, who is the government advisor to Gordon Brown on World European Affairs.

"We got some good advice and he's going to go straight to Gordon Brown, and hopefully something will come of it. We'll carry on with the campaign in case we need to take it to Strasbourg, should the need arise."

The Spanish authorities have refused to comment.

A Spanish man has been jailed for Mr Dunne's murder.