Dubai jail term cut... to 10 years

A BRITISH football coach was sentenced to ten years in a Dubai jail yesterday over cannabis vape oil found in his car.

Billy Hood was initially told he would serve 25 years after police found four bottles of the vape liquid, which contains CBD, a chemical found in the cannabis plant but not responsible for delivering a high.

An appeal court yesterday accepted he did not intend to traffic or sell the product and his jail term was cut.

But his family last night called on the UK Government to do more and use its ‘strong ties’ to the United Arab Emirates – of which Dubai is one. Mr Hood’s mother Breda Guckion said: ‘I can’t tell you how broken I am feeling.’

A clemency request has already been submitted by the Foreign Office in an effort to win a pardon.

There have been concerns over Mr Hood’s treatment, with claims he was forced to confess. The Foreign Office said it was giving consular support to Mr Hood and was in contact with his family.