A Briton feared dead in the tsunami disaster when his passport was found on a dead man's body stunned his family when he phoned home to wish them a happy New Year.

Police had taken DNA samples from Allister Purves' relatives to confirm a belief he was a victim of the waves.

But the 30-year-old from Port Seton, East Lothian, caused tears of joy when he called from a rescuer's phone in the Andaman Islands.

Giant helpers

Elephants, Thailand's ancient war vehicles, are being brought in to help disaster workers retrieve and transport bodies from tsunami-hit beaches and islands.

About 24 elephants were expected on Phuket and the mainland beaches of Khao Lak where corpses lay buried beneath rubble and tonnes of sand.

"Elephants are better than four-wheel-drive trucks, better than back hoes," Sompast Meephan said as he loaded animals from Ayutthaya, in central Thailand for the 800km ride to Phuket.

Silver lining

The devastation wrought on one of Thailand's island paradises has been a boon to another.

Visitors to the smashed tourist hotspots of Phuket, Krabi and Phi Phi Island, have sought to salvage their holidays by shifting to Samui Island on the opposite side of the Malay Peninsula.

Along the Gulf of Thailand there's no hint of the destruction in the Andaman Sea, as open-air bars pump out pop tunes and Westerners in beachwear jam the streets.

Plague of hoax calls

Friends and relatives seeking news of loved ones have been plagued by hoax emails saying they are dead, say British police.

Messages purportedly from Government officials have been sent to people who placed appeals for information on the Sky News website.

Police said they were treating the matter as a "very serious crime" and have launched a full investigation.

'The Bill' star's loss

The 2-month-old grandson of The Bill star Eric Richard is thought to be the youngest British victim of the devastating Asian tsunami.

The Mail on Sunday reported that Richard, who played Sergeant Bob Cryer in the long-running British TV series, was being comforted at home in Kent following his loss.

His grandson was believed to have been swept out of the arms of the star's son Richard Smith on a beach in Sri Lanka where the family were staying.