THE Romsey family of a deaf and disabled charity worker jailed in India for drug possession has called for his immediate release from the squalid conditions, insisting he is innocent.

Ian Stillman, 50, was last week given a ten-year sentence after his arrest in the foothills of the Himalayas, allegedly carrying 20 kilograms of cannabis.

But brother-in-law Jerry Dugdale, a Romsey bookshop owner, said that after ten trips to India to support Ian he was convinced the authorities had made a horrible mistake. He said: "Bear in mind he's only got one leg and this bag has supposedly got 20 kilos of drugs in it.

"He walks with a stick - he could not carry it.

"We want him released and the charges quashed.

"Everyone expected him to come out and get acquitted at the verdict.

"This was a good man who didn't deserve to be in jail and the system failed him."

Mr Dugdale said Ian, who has worked in India for the past 25 years and has an Indian wife and two children, was deteriorating badly in jail.

He said Ian was initially held in a local jail where he shared a cell with up to 35 other male prisoners.

"There was one light bulb and a single attached toilet for all 35 men. For a man with one leg, it was sometimes easier to urinate where he lay," said Ian.

Ian's sister Elspeth Dugdale, added: "His artificial leg needs replacing as it has seized up, making walking awkward."

The British High Commission has succeeded in getting him transferred to a prison in Simla, where there are better conditions.

A spokeswoman said: "We are pressing the Indians to get the appeal process started as quickly as possible."

Stephen Jakobi of campaign group Fair Trials Abroad said Mr Stillman's plight was "horrific".

He said: "This is a man who is known around the world for his work and it is unbelievable what has happened to him".