THE brother of a former Worcester schoolboy, who died in the Bali bomb attacks said he would like to "pull the trigger" on his sibling's murderer.

Andy Bowler's brother Neil was among the 202 people killed in the terrorist attack, which happened a year ago this weekend, Saturday, October 12, 2002.

The blast from a car bomb ripped through the Sari nightclub on the Indonesian island, claiming amongst its victims the life of the 27-year-old former King's School pupil and fellow Worcestershire man 39-year-old Tom Holmes, from Droitwich.

Speaking on the first anniversary of the attack, Mr Bowler said he would be happy to carry out the punishment to Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, the radical Islamist found guilty in August and last month sentenced to death by firing squad. A date for the execution has yet to be fixed.

Another 33 men are facing separate trials for their involvement in the atrocity, but Andy fears international terrorism will never go away.

Although Mr Bowler will be glad to see the perpetrators of the crime executed, initially he said he wanted a life sentence so bin Nurhasyim could suffer for the rest of his years for what he did.

"We have to respect the laws of the Indonesian authorities, so in a sense I'm happy with what they issued over there. But I'd just like to be there to pull the trigger," he said.

"Perhaps that's a bit of bravado. I don't know if I would actually be able to use a gun."

He added that many others are likely to suffer at the hands of terrorists.

"Unfortunately, there have been terrorist attacks throughout the world this year and I don't think the problem is ever going to go away."

Devastating

Mr Bowler said the family was determined to draw a line under the devastating act, but after attending a recent Rugby tournament and service to commemorate the atrocity in Bali, he said memories were at the fore.

Both victims were keen sportsmen, had taken jobs in the Far East and were on rugby team tours and out celebrating that fateful evening.

BALI BOMBING: Alex Earnshaw reports, one year on...

A RUGBY tournament and service in memory of the Bali bomb victims left 250 players "moved to tears".

Many of those mentally or physically injured, directly or indirectly, by the terrorist attack, returned to the Indonesian island this week, to pay their respects and to look to the future.

One man, a former pilot - who has been left badly burnt by the explosions and lost his job through his injuries - even refereed matches in the Bali 10s rugby competition.

It was this type of gutsy determination and defiance in the face of adversity, which Andy Bowler admired, when he returned to play in honour of his brother Neil.

"It did seem very dubious going back, but it was fine and the competition went really well," he said.

"There were players competing from last year, many of them were badly burnt.

Emotion

"We held a service afterwards, which was very hard to get through. It was full of emotion.

"There were 250 rugby players in tears."

Andy was invited to play with "Tequila Mockingbirds", a team set up by his brother Neil.

He returned to Worcestershire this week. Other victim groups are staying in Bali for the first anniversary commemorations tomorrow.

In London, 800 people are expected to cram into St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London's Trafalgar Square, from 6.30pm.

The Duke of Kent will represent the Queen, while Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw and Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell will appear on behalf of the Government.

At 5.30pm, relatives and survivors of the bombings will release 202 helium balloons to represent the lives lost.

Bloody chaos as rugby ace was killed in blast

A BLOODY chaos was unleashed upon Bali, when car bombs ripped through the clubs and packed streets of the island's popular Kuta district.

As the first exploded outside Paddy's Irish pub, the second, much bigger, hit the Sari Club, on October 12, last year.

In all, 202 citizens from 21 countries died in the car bomb blasts, among them 26 Britains.

A phone call woke Andy Bowler to this Far Eastern carnage. It was from his mother.

"It was early Sunday morning, and she had been told by a person that there had been an explosion in a nightclub," he said.

"We couldn't speak to anyone, so we had to sit back and wait for Neil to phone in. He didn't and we knew by Monday morning that he had died."

Mr Bowler, aged 27, said his older brother Neil, pictured below, who used to live in Feckenham, had moved to Hong Kong in 1997 and later, Singapore, where he worked for The Economist magazine.

He was one of eight members of the Singapore Cricket Team's rugby section killed as they celebrated the end of their tour on the Indonesian island.

"He was a very determined sportsman, very committed to his friends and family and successful in his work," said Mr Bowler.

"We're trying to draw a line under this event. It has been very, very hard and perhaps my mum has suffered most. But life can't just stop and we have to carry on."

Keen sportsman Andy said he still had small keepsakes to remind him of his older brother, who captained The King's School, Worcester, rugby first team.

Agonising wait to discover fate

THE family of Tom Holmes, pictured right, suffered an agonising wait before knowing the fate of the popular 39-year-old from Droitwich.

He was missing, presumed dead at the time of the blast. His older brother Paul said they had to be "philosophical" about the situation.

They knew his Hong Kong rugby team had been drinking in the Sari club at the time of the explosion and expected the worse.

"We don't fear the worst. We know it," said Mr Holmes, speaking to the Evening News at the time.

"We know that he was in a team group at the bar shortly before the explosion."

He described Tom, a civil engineer who moved to Hong Kong eight years ago, as a "wonderful and loving son, brother and uncle".

Mr Holmes said he and other relatives, parents Peter and Jane from Oxfordshire and sister Claire from Cambridge had taken comfort from the fact that Tom had been enjoying himself before the tragedy.

"That's exactly the way he would have wanted it," he said.

Scenes of attacks turned

to shrines

AN empty wasteland is all that is left of the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar - both obliterated in last year's attacks.

Both sites - only 50ft apart - are fenced off from the prying public - the Sari Club encircled with green metal poles, Paddy's Bar with bamboo.

As the first anniversary approaches, the area has gradually turned into a shrine.

Flowers, wreaths and photographs clog the perimeter of the Sari Club, with loving messages scrawled in every spare space.

"Dear Mummy, Hope you have a good night in the sky. Love Katie."

Poems have been penned, pledging remembrance and hope.

Heaven

Tahlia Pocock, aged 10, from Western Australia wrote, "I will remember them, I will remember everyone.

"I hope they like their new home in heaven."

On the plot of land where Paddy's once stood, banana trees have been planted and now reach three or four feet high.

The Indonesians have built a fine marble memorial in between the two sites, standing more than 40ft tall, with sweeping stairs to the central plaque bearing all the names of those who perished.

On the first anniversary, relatives will gather at this site, which has been termed Bali's "Ground Zero".