Justin Dowding pictured at Leopold’s Cafe in Mumbai. Minutes after leaving, Islamic terrorists fired upon the establishment.

THE parents of Justin Dowding were alerted to his plight by text message.

Peter, a detective chief inspector with Guernsey Police, and his wife, Linda, were unaware of events unfolding in Mumbai. ‘Justin had texted to say that if we saw anything on TV, we weren’t to worry as he was safe in his hotel,’ said Mr Dowding.

‘We turned on Sky News and saw what was happening. We saw that the terrorists had taken over at least one hotel. I tried to call Justin but the lines were too busy and it was about two hours until we were able to speak to him.

‘It was clear that we knew more about what was happening through watching the TV than he did there.’

Mr Dowding snr said he had contacted the Foreign & Commonwealth Office helpline as people had been invited to do and the advice he was given had been second to none. He would advise anyone in a similar situation to do the same.

‘We were able to tell Justin not to take any chances, not to leave the hotel and to stay where he was,’ he said.