THE family of a man killed abroad are trying to raise money to bring his body home for a proper funeral.

James Bolton, 51, formerly of Lincoln, was murdered by alleged "gadget" serial killer Mark Dizon on July 16, according to The Philippine Star newspaper.

Mr Bolton's family are trying to raise the £10,000 needed to repatriate him.

The newspaper has reported the father-of-three was shot along with a woman, believed to be 22, in a village near Angeles in the Philippines.

Family members have set up a Facebook group called Bring Our Dad Home to raise funds for flying Mr Bolton's body back to Britain.

The group says: "Me and my family have lost our dad in a tragic death overseas.

"We cannot get him home because they are asking for £10,000 and we cannot afford that.

"We're not asking for a lot, just what you can give. It all adds up and means we can give our dad the funeral he deserves."

Dizon, a 28-year-old computer technician, has been arrested and charged with killing nine people, including Mr Bolton, in three robberies this month, the Star reported.

It is thought Dizon was Facebook friends with the daughter of one of the victims. A friend of her family showed his photo on the site to witnesses to help identify him.

He was caught and charged after his father arranged to meet him in a square in San Fernando City, according to The Hindustan Times.

Dizon is alleged to have killed his victims, with a 9mm pistol and then stolen electronic gadgets from their homes, which he then pawned.

A spokesman for the Foreign And Commonwealth Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in the Philippines.

"Consular assistance is being provided to the family."

Edgardo Pamintuan, the mayor of Angeles, told the Star the filing of charges against Dizon came after pawn shop owners surrendered a laptop, camera, and cellular phone which the suspect stole from South African national Geoffrey Allan Bennun, 60, and his live-in partner, Abegail Helina, 20.

The paper stated the bodies of Bennun and Helina, already in a state of decomposition, were found in their house at Oasis Hotel and Villas in Clarkville Compound in Barangay Anunas last July 12.

Chief Inspector Luisito Tan, head of police Station 4, is reported as saying that at least two witnesses also positively identified Dizon as the one they supposedly saw on July 22 emerging from the house of retired US Air Force veteran Albert Mitchell, 70, who was killed along with his wife Janet Andrenada, 53, and their house helpers Isabel Fajardo, Marissa Prado, and Yulberto Catli, in his Philippine home.