The father of a Liverpool-born photographer injured in a shell attack in Syria which killed two journalists has spoken of his shock after seeing his son on YouTube.
Paul Conroy, 47, originally from Anfield, suffered shrapnel injuries to his left eye and leg in the attack which killed foreign correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik
Syrian forces attacked a makeshift media centre in the central Syrian city of Homs yesterday.
Activists said at least 40 people were killed in the attack.
A video posted on YouTube shows Paul being treated in a Syrian hospital.
Les Conroy, from Knotty Ash, said married father-of-three Paul was not too seriously hurt, and praised modern technology for providing him with information about his Liverpool-born son.
He said: "We had a look and there it was. I've seen him looking better but I've seen him looking worse.
"When I first heard it was a bit of a shock, but when it comes over on the media like that it is very useful.
"We never thought that we would be seeing him or hearing him speak, without that we would have been sitting here for ages.
“To people who decry modern-day things like computers, video links and mobile phones, it shows them that these things are almost invaluable now.
“I don’t know where we would be without them.”
Les also described hearing of Ms Colvin’s death as a “terrible shock”.
He said: "To be out there doing a job like that - which we have all said is vital so that we know what's happening in these places - it was a terrible shock to hear that she had been killed."
He also spoke of the dangers journalists face in places like Syria.
He added: “Paul had been in touch all the time via his Blackberry and he with a good crew who were looking after them.
“But you can’t escape the fact that if the city or the town is getting shelled by the minute, they’re no safer than anybody else.”
Paul Conroy is a freelance photographer who has worked for the BBC and Channel 4, as well as The Sunday Times alongside Ms Colvin.
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