Luke Walker's family bid to find £15k for bail

Black Country murder suspect Luke Walker could be out on bail within a month, his family revealed today.

They must now find up to £15,000 cash to pay for his bail, which, if all goes to plan, will be applied for at the start of next week.

It will then take up to 20 days before a closed hearing will decide Walker's fate - with the outlook "very positive" according to the family's Greek solicitor.

Luke Walker, aged 22, of Brierley Hill, is accused of beating girlfriend Chelsea Hyndman, aged 21, to death while they were looking for work in the popular party destination of Malia.

His brother Ryan, aged 28, said it was a relief to finally get the wheels in motion.

"The solicitor was very positive that he was going to get him out on bail," he said.

"We were getting quite frustrated but we've talked through the process with him now which has made everything more clear."

He said the family was due to pick up the photos from the initial post mortem this afternoon. Patrick Walker will get on a plane to England to deliver them to the family's UK solicitor.

He will then send the pictures to West Yorkshire coroner David Hinchliff, who will complete his post mortem report.

The report must then be officially translated into Greek and sent back to Crete, before the solicitor can apply for bail.

"So provided the pictures are available as promised, we should be able to submit the application on Monday," Ryan added.

It will then take anything up to 20 days for the hearing, which will be in a closed court with just three public prosecutors and the case file. The family must also pay anything between £5,000 and £15,000 up front to the court on the day.

The family has now started looking for a longer-term lease so they can provide the court with an address while they are in Greece.

It is hoped the photographs will help prove Walker's story that Miss Hyndman died as a result of an accident before her death, when she fell heavily on a beer glass.

"We think the Greek doctors just jumped the gun when they first examined her — they saw a bruise on her stomach and immediately assumed she had been hit," Ryan added.

"The pictures are necessary for the coroners in England to make a full report, and could help prove how she died."

Friends of the couple in Malia said at the weekend the case had "completely changed" the island's party atmosphere.

Talking from a hotel in Malia, Louise Purdie, aged 24, rejected the accusations against Walker and claimed the resort's "every day is a party" attitude had been dampened by the situation.