Six former UK soldiers held in India for 4 years to be freed

SIX British ex-soldiers who have been held on weapons charges in a ‘hell hole’ Indian jail since 2013 are finally to be released.

The men were arrested while working as anti-piracy guards on a ship in the Indian Ocean. Indian authorities said their weapons had not been properly declared.

The families of the so-called Chennai Six said their ‘dreams had come true’ after a judge in India ruled they were not guilty. The group has always denied the charges, which were initially quashed but later reinstated. They were sentenced to five years in 2016 and were being held in Puzhal Central Prison in the city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras.

After an appeal, all charges

were dropped yesterday. Their families said it may ‘take some time’ for them to return home because Indian authorities are yet to decide if they wish to challenge the ruling.

Officials found 35 guns, including semi-automatic weapons, and almost 6,000 rounds of ammunition on board the antipiracy ship MV Seaman Guard Ohio when the men were arrested in October 2013.

They argued the weapons were lawfully held and their paperwork, issued by the UK Government, was in order.

The men are Billy Irving, 37, from Connel, Argyll, Nick Dunn, 31, from Ashington, Northumberland, John Armstrong, 30, of Wigton, Cumbria, Nicholas Simpson, 47, of Catterick, North Yorkshire, Ray Tindall, 42, of Chester, and Paul Towers, 54, of Pocklington in East Yorkshire.

Yvonne MacHugh, the partner of Billy Irving, said: ‘I just feel sheer relief – finally we’re getting our family back together.’

‘Getting our family back together’