Agony of waiting for family of chef killed in Thailand.

THE family of murdered Liverpool chef Bernard Le Court were last night still waiting to hear if his body would be flown back to the UK from Thailand for burial.

Mr LeCourt's uncle, Arthur Le Court, who lives in Warrington, was too upset to speak, but his partner Ann Joyce spoke to the Daily Post.

She said: 'It is just starting to sink in. Arthur is really upset today. We keep hearing all the details about what happened on the radio and it is quite gruesome.

'It has hit us really hard. We just don't know why anyone would do this.' The 52-year-old Liverpool-born chef was found in roadside bushes near the tourist resort of Pattaya, 40 miles south from Bangkok. His throat had been slit and his money, camera and video camera had been stolen.

Ms Joyce said Mr Le Court was waiting by the phone to hear from Bernard's twin brother, Michael, who was believed to have travelled to Thailand on Wednesday night.

She said: 'We understand that Michael now knows about his brother's death after being told by the Foreign Office, and that the British Embassy in Thailand has got the body. Arthur is expecting a phone call any minute. Michael will be distraught. We haven't been able to make any arrangements because we don't know what is happening.'

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office refused to make any comment on repatriation issues.

A taxi driver has been arrested on suspicion of killing Mr Le Court during a robbery in order to pay off gambling debts. He faces the death penalty if found guilty

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