A chief reporter with the East Anglian Daily Times built up a celebrity status on a Caribbean island after arriving for a two-week trial that did not take place.

Richard Smith flew to St Kitts two years ago while following a murder investigation involving the death of a millionaire from Woodbridge who died in a shooting at his holiday home on the small island.

Richard, (right), returned in June for the scheduled trial, only to discover that it had been postponed at the last minute for the fourth time.

He quickly built up a rapport with the St Kittians and the ex-pat community 4,000 miles away from England as he stayed for two weeks.

Richard, who works for Archant Suffolk, said: “There was a great deal of interest in the fact that the EADT had sent me out for the trial and I was interviewed on radio where the reporter said that every time I came to the island it prompted the authorities to move the investigation forward.

“I hired a bicycle to cut down on expenses and cycled all round the island.”

There were security scares during his time there.

He said: “A late-evening visit to the island’s only Indian restaurant prompted the waiters to lock the doors and shutter the place for security reasons, and when I made several trips into a seedy area of the capital I was warned off by locals who were angry that I was trying to find the home of the alleged killer.

“But I struck lucky on my fourth occasion when I dived in for one last time, armed with a bodyguard, and came away clutching exclusive photos of his homes.

“So although I didn’t have two weeks in a dusty Caribbean courtroom I did have the chance to obtain photos and material for the trial background – and it is not often you can put on your expenses that you dined at Mr X’s Shiggidy Surf Shack or drank at the Monkey Bar with Roy Gumbs, ex-middleweight champion.”

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