THE body of a Stratford man left Greece intact, said a doctor from the Greek Embassy this week, following the storm over organs that were said to be missing from Tony Bicknell when pathologists carried out a post mortem in England.

Dr Nicholas Papadakis, said that stringent regulations over the removal of organs after death would have made it impossible for Mr Bicknell's heart, lungs and other vital parts to have been given away without documentation.

He said that the body of Mr Bicknell, from Holly Walk, who died while holidaying on Zakynthos, left Greece intact and the blame for organ removal lay elsewhere.

A first post mortem was carried out in Greece after Mr Bicknell died while swimming and established he drowned after suffering a massive heart attack.

However, an inquest in Leamington on December 1 heard that the cause of death could not be confirmed in England as all organs, except for the brain, had been removed.

Mr Bicknell's five daughters were left distraught by the discovery, saying they could not lay their father to rest properly until they knew where his organs had gone and why his body had been "plundered".

Eldest daughter Dawn, aged 36, said the family had had no proof he had died on the Greek beach and no witness reports had been received from people on the beach.

She said to Warwickshire coroner Michael Coker at the inquest: "We believe you should be doing more to discover why my father was treated like this and we especially want to discover why my father's body was plundered."

Dr Papadakis told the Journal: "We have very strict regulations over organ transplantation and would not remove anything unless we have the pre-permission of the deceased or the permission of the family.

"Any doctor who removed organs for transplantation without securing this permission would be subject to very strict disciplinary action."

The doctor said he had examined post-mortem reports from the island and could find nothing that said Mr Bicknell's organs had been removed for transplantation or research and, as far as he was concerned, that meant they had not been removed in Greece.

"I have copies of the signed report and statement from the hospital and they do not say anything about organ removal," he added. The Leamington inquest was adjourned until more information on Mr Bicknell's death can be received from the Greek authorities.

Mr Bicknell's family was unavailable for comment before the Journal went to press.