Freed pirate-hunter Billy Irving could be home within a week, his jubilant fiancee said as he was finally released from an Indian prison.
The first thing 37-year-old Mr Irving from Connel, near Oban, did upon entering the comfort of the British High Commission was to telephone loyal partner Yvonne MacHugh.
Miss MacHugh, 29, has spent the last four years tirelessly campaigning for his release.
And now it looks like Mr Irving and his colleagues could be back in Britain within a week. It will be the first Christmas he has spent with two-year-old son William.
He and five other former British ex-soldiers – known as the Chennai Six – were working as security guards on a ship to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean.
They were arrested on illegal weapons charges in October 2013 and have been trapped in India ever since.
But on Monday the Indian court upheld their appeal, finding them not guilty. They were released from prison at 7am British time yesterday morning.
Miss MacHugh said: “That’s Billy released. He got released this morning about 7am. He called me straight away when he was in the embassy office. They are looking after them now.
“They have given them a celebratory drink and they have been taken to accommodation for a good night’s sleep. It will be his first night in a real bed for two years.
“They will be able to get a wash and a shave.
“We are just waiting for the certified copy to come through, that should be out tomorrow and then they want them out of there as soon as possible.
“The Foreign Office is co-ordinating it, so we are hoping they could be home within the week, which is even better than we could have hoped for. It is looking even more likely that William will have his Christmas wish.”
After hearing the news of the acquittal on Monday and giving countless interviews for television and radio, she was told at 1am yesterday that the men were to be released.
She said: “I couldn’t even sleep. I thought, it’s 6am over there, they could be out any minute. I didn’t sleep at all.”
The charges were initially quashed when the men argued the weapons were lawfully held for anti-piracy purposes.
But a lower court reinstated the prosecution and they were convicted in January last year and sentenced to five years in jail. The conviction was thrown out on appeal.
