by SARAH CHAMBERS

THE first trial of men accused of last year's Bali bombing, which killed a 39-year-old man with family in Droitwich, began on Monday.

Relatives and friends of victim Tom Holmes will be anxiously following the case of more than 30 suspects.

They stand accused of causing the terror attack, which killed 200 people, in October 2002.

Tom, a former Bromsgrove School student, was in the popular tourist trap on a rugby tour. He had been living in Hong Kong for the last seven years.

He was last seen in the Sari nightclub with team-mates before the bomb went off outside.

His brother Paul Holmes, of Grosvenor Way, has previously described him as a "wonderful and loving son, brother and uncle". He did not wish to comment on the trial.

More than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, perished in the two blasts which came within seconds of each other, and without warning, outside the Sari nightclub, in Katu.

Thirty three men have been charged with crimes relating to the planning, financing, making and detonating of the bombs.

The trials are expected to last five months and all of the suspects face the death penalty under newly enacted anti-terrorism laws.

They allegedly worked for Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional Islamic group linked to al-Qaeda.

Several of the suspects have reportedly confessed to their role in the blasts, which were carried out to avenge the deaths of Muslims in other parts of the world.