THE estranged wife of a Gwent man being held on a murder charge in an Indian jail says she still does not know when he will face trial.

Adrian Duggan, 36, from Blaina, is accused of killing girlfriend Catherine Campbell at the paradise resort of Vagator, Goa, after a Christmas Eve party last year.

His estranged wife Linda Duggan, 39, of Lancaster Street, Blaina, says seven months on, she and the rest of Duggan's family still do not know for sure when he will stand trial.

Duggan is currently being held in Mapusa jail in Goa.

Mrs Duggan said: "We now believe the trial may be starting later this month but the Indian authorities keep giving us dates and then cancelling them.

"We are all still waiting to hear when the trial will start. We want it to start sooner rather than later so he can come home. He hasn't done anything wrong."

Blaenau Gwent MP Llew Smith has also taken up Duggan's case. He said: "I have been in touch with the the Foreign Office and the British Embassy over the matter, all that we can do at this stage, we have done."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are still waiting for the Indian authorities to let us know what will happen next."

Mother-of-four Ms Campbell, 43, from Abertillery, was found in a pool of blood at the guesthouse she and Duggan were staying in.

Duggan, discovered near a pair of bloodstained scissors, was injured himself and needed hospital treatment.

Mrs Duggan separated from her estranged husband in March, 2003, after a nine-year marriage.

Ms Campbell is understood to have met Duggan while working behind the bar at the Royal Exchange pub in Blaina.

They were seeing each other for around five months and were on a long holiday when the tragedy happened.

Reports at the time of the death said the couple had returned to their guesthouse at 4am after a Christmas Eve party.

The guest house landlady reported she then heard screams and police were called who had to break down the door of the couple's room.

Duggan was held on remand for 90 days before he was charged with murder in April.