THE owner of historic Broughton Hall has spoken of his wife's fight for life after falling from a camel three weeks ago

Henry Tempest's 73 year-old wife, Janet, has been in a coma since the accident in Kenya, where she was on a safari holiday.

Mr Tempest, 79, has been keeping a bedside vigil with his three daughters and two sons at Leeds General Infirmary.

He said: "Sometimes we are able to communicate with her by squeezing her left hand and sometimes getting a response.

"Although she occasionally opens her eyes and can then move them, they do not seem to register. My family and I are most grateful for the many messages of support we have had following Janet's horrific accident."

The family valued the support and prayers offered for Mrs Tempest's recovery and he hoped people would understand why they had not been able to show their appreciation in a more personal way, he added.

Mrs Tempest was flown back to the UK on a life support machine in a special jet from Nairobi, last Thursday.

She is "critical but stable" in the infirmary's high dependency unit. Mrs Tempest needs a hip operation, but doctors have had to postpone it four times because of her condition.

She was on holiday with her husband and 30 year-old son Piers when she fell from a camel on Wednesday January 7 and suffered multiple injuries.

Her son Roger, 40, who runs the 3,000 acre, 400 year-old estate, has given his mother blood.

Mr and Mrs Tempest were married in Africa 46 years ago. Mrs Tempest, a devout Catholic, is a well known public figure and is recognised for her charity work, in particular her work for the Mother Teresa charity.

Since 1975, she has run a clothing bank at Broughton Hall, sending articles to the impoverished in Kolkata in eastern Europe.