A Sussex man who owns a Kenyan holiday complex has been living in the shadow of an Islamic death sentence for four years.

Michael Handelman, 61, broke his silence the day after 16 people were killed in a hotel bombing and a missile attack on an airliner in the trouble-torn African nation.

But despite the threat to his own life and Government tourist warnings of the possibility of further indiscriminate attacks, he said he felt safer in Mombasa than in Brighton.

He said: "I know the country, I know the political situation. You are more at risk from mosquitoes than bombers."

Mr Handelman owns the Coral Cove complex of holiday cottages at Tiwi, south of Mombasa, where he emigrated from Sussex 25 years ago.

He was in Hove attending his sister's funeral when the terrorists struck. His wife, Kerstin, remains in Kenya.

He said he was horrified by the images of carnage which have rocked his adopted home.

Mr Handelman told how he was made subject of a fatwa four years ago after he worked with Israeli tourists in East Africa.

He said: "The man who delivered it was shaking with rage because I had taken some Jews into a mosque to show them children learning the Koran.

"He cursed me and said they would strike me down. It was scary at first but I decided to continue with my work, although I was always looking over my shoulder. I reported it to the police but they did nothing.

"I felt more sorry for him, for anyone harbouring such racial hatred."

He said he had gradually grown accustomed to life under the threat of execution.

"I certainly felt threatened when I was with the Israelis because they were such a security risk. These days I try not to think about it and I feel more threatened walking the streets of Brighton at night."

And despite the fatwa and the terrorist attacks, he appealed to holidaymakers not to shun his country, warning a boycott would cripple the economy.

He said: "There is absolutely no reason for people to stop going to Kenya unless you are staying in an Israeli hotel, or one which caters for Israelis."

Mr Handelman, who is Jewish, spent years ferrying coachloads of Israeli tourists to Mombasa without any security.

He also took them on safari and visited Muslim communities with them.

Soon after the fatwa was handed down, Mr Handelman warned the authorities that the coachloads of Israeli tourists, who took the same route through the country each week, were "sitting ducks".

He said many Israelis made themselves unpopular by not respecting local customs.

He said: "Some people may think I'm telling people not to stop going to Kenya because I have a business there but for the average Briton going to the main tourist areas like Diani beach, the chances of being affected by terrorism are as remote as being hit by the Basques in Benidorm."

Mr Handelman said Kenya had 60 per cent unemployment and tourism was its number one earner, even above coffee.

"The average Kenyan earns 70p a day. Without tourism many people will starve and many lives will be destroyed."

Mr Handelman is also involved in charity work and has helped build schools, a clinic and provide sanitation for poor communities.

He said: "My only justification for being in Kenya is being able to help the desperately needy populous."