A BROMSGROVE man, who is currently serving a 50 year sentence in a notorious Bangkok prison after pleading guilty to possession of drugs, has been told his appeal will take place in September.

Lance Whitmore, now 28, has spent nearly two years in Klong Prem Central Prison after he and a friend were found to be carrying 200 ecstasy tablets by Thai police officers in 2014.

He was arrested just months after his fiancee Jitma Tahin, 25, died of meningitis, which, his family claim, tipped him into carrying the drugs for his friend.

Lance's family were devastated by the life sentence, which means he will not be released until he is 77-years-old, and organised an appeal in November 2014.

A year and a half later, the appeal date has been set for Tuesday, September 6.

His lawyer, Nathan Feeney, said an original Fak-Krang police report stated the purity of the drugs he was in possession of was 8.79 grams, but in a second police reported this had trebled, to 27.9 grammes.

Thailand has three grades for class one narcotics. The results of the initial purity test would have placed the pills in the second category, but the second, higher result placed them in category three, meaning automatic jail time and in some cases, the death penalty.

Lance will be able to apply to be transferred to a British prison once he has served four years of his sentence, but Mr Feeney is hoping the panel of judges will reduce his 50 year sentence to single figures.

Mr Feeney said: "Best case scenario, the sentence will be reduced to the point that Lance can leave prison immediately, but this may be unrealistic considering he pleaded guilty. Any reduction in his sentence will be good news for Lance.

"Klong Prem is a terrible prison - I'm still surprised by the terrible conditions every time I go there. But we have got to have hope - that's what keeps you going."

As part of Lance's defence, Mr Feeney argues that the differences between British and Thai drug laws should result in a much lower sentence for Lance.

After the panel of judges have re-examined the evidence, Lance and his co-defendant, who was given a double life sentence after pleading not guilty, will be brought in to the appeal court in shackles to hear the result.

As Lance pleaded guilty, his sentence cannot be increased, but if judges decide to stick to the original sentence, Lance can choose to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.

A ‘Help get Lance Whitmore home’ Facebook group was started to help raise money towards the £25,000 fine given alongside his life sentence.

Anyone wishing to donate should visit helplance.org.uk.