AN aid worker facing child smuggling charges in Romania should know his fate within a matter of days.

Summing up in the trial of former Great Harwood businessman John Boast ended this morning and the judge has now retired to consider the evidence.

Speaking to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph from Romania, the 47-year-old said he was now waiting patiently for what he believed would be a positive verdict following the trial in the town of Oradea.

He said the best outcome would see him cleared of the charges so that he could resume his aid trips to the poverty-stricken country after a short "holiday" in his native East Lancashire.

During lengthy proceedings Mr Boast has been accused of being aware children were being smuggled out of Romania and persuading parents to take part in illegal adoption.

Today he said: "This morning the prosecution and defence solicitors gave their summary of the evidence.

"We must now await the judge's response.

"Unlike the British legal system where a decision is reached almost immediately, the Romanian judge could take up to a week to rule. "I am confident that I have never committed any crime here and I don't consider any crime has been committed.

"I can only hope that the judge shows leniency if I am found guilty."

Mr Boast, formerly of Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, enlisted the help of four fellow aid workers who signed statements in his defence which, he claimed, showed he could not have smuggled a baby out of Romania.

After his arrest last January Mr Boast spent four months in jail in Oradea before his release under legal supervision in August.

Mr Boast set up the Great Harwood International Relief Agency to run a series of aid convoys claiming the plight of disadvantaged children was more important than money and home comforts.

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