Delivery man demands retrial over Howard Hughes will

Howard Hughes (pictured with Ginger Rogers), the reclusive American billionaire and hygiene freak who died in 1976, is the subject of a multi-million pound legal claim brought by a Utah delivery man who says that he once rescued the tycoon in the Nevada desert. Melvin Dummar claims that shortly after this act of kindness, which occurred in 1967, Hughes promised to reward him in his will to the tune of $156m, money he is still waiting to receive.

Needless to say, Dummar's story is disputed by the Hughes estate, which successfully fought a lengthy probate trial against the claim 30 years ago. However, Dummar is trying to win a retrial and has a new, fairly credible witness, Robert Diero - a former director of aviation for the Hughes Company and private pilot to his employer - to back him up.

The story goes like this: while driving from Utah to California, Dummar stopped at a place called Lida Junction in the middle of Nevada and found a man face down in the desert scrub. The filthy figure, who he deposited at the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip, later turned out to be Hughes. According to his version of events, sometime later one of Hughes aides delivered an envelope to him which contained a hand-scrawled note that purported to be a new will with the provision to bequeath $156m to him for his good deed.

Dummar's lawyer argues that associates of Hughes had knowledge of the hand-written will at the time of the first trial but withheld it. Robert Diero's evidence is considered crucial. He says that he flew Hughes to Lida Junction on the date in question so that Hughes could visit a nearby brothel. He lost track of his charge and flew back to Las Vegas without him.

He says: "This man performed an act of generosity and kindness that I believe saved Hughes's life." The court is expected to rule late this year on whether a new probate trial should be heard.