AFTER waiting almost a week, the parents of two travellers caught up in the catastrophic tsunami disaster in south east Asia have received more good news.

Bury couple James Richards and Samantha Wilson managed to get a text message through to their worried parents, via a friend, on Friday to say they were safe and well on Havelock, part of the Andaman Islands.

The text message was sent by an Israeli man who had been with them when the tidal wave struck on Boxing Day. The message said the pair were safe and well and that Havelock had not been too badly hit by the undersea quake.

The message added that the couple would call their parents as soon as possible.

James' father, Mr Keith Richards, of Irwell Vale, said: "The man who sent the text had been staying in a hut beside James and Samantha and was in Bangalore when he was able to send the message. It said that they were pretty sure that we would be panicking after hearing about the disaster on the news, but where they were was not too bad.

"We received the text message on Friday and were overjoyed. They did say they would try and ring us, but they haven't been able to get through yet. We're just waiting now for the call."

The first to confirm that James and Samantha were safe were members of a diving school on Havelock who managed to get off the island and telephone James' parents, Keith and Ann, and Samantha's parents, Josephine and Miles in Royton, Oldham, on Wednesday. Havelock is five hours by boat to Port Blair on the South Andaman island, which belongs to India.

Twenty-seven-year-olds James and Samantha, who met two years ago, left the UK in September, for a two-year trip around the world.

They sent a book of photographs James' parents just days before Christmas, along with presents for the family.

Samantha sold her house in Stubbins, which she shared with James, to fund the trip - her first travelling venture. James has been travelling since he was 18, returning to the UK to work to pay for more trips. After leaving school he joined Blackburn Rovers as an apprentice but when a career in soccer did not materialise he decided to travel the world.

The tsunami has devastated parts of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Somalia and the Maldives. Up to 150,000 people are thought to have lost their lives, with millions more displaced. So far 40 Britons are confirmed dead but the number is expected to rise substantially.