Prime minister Theresa May is to raise the case of a Chester man and five other ex-servicemen locked in an Indian jail when she visits the country next week.

Ex-Army sniper Ray Tindall, 40, from The Crescent, Newton, is one of six British men who was working aboard an anti-piracy vessel alleged to have strayed in to Indian waters in October 2013.

Accused of illegally importing weapons, the men have always protested their innocence but in January were jailed for five years along with the rest of the 35-strong crew.

Ray Tindall
Ray Tindall

Their lawyer has described the case as ‘a miscarriage of justice’.

And there were reports earlier this year the men were sleeping on concrete floors and living 23 to a cell in the notorious Puzhal jail in the city of Chennai. Mr Tindall has a young daughter back in Chester.

The Foreign Office says Mrs May will raise the case with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit next week.

A government spokesman said: “We recognise what a difficult time this is for those involved and we have taken significant action on this case. The prime minister has been clear that she intends to raise it with PM Modi during her visit next week.

The Foreign Office statement as seen on Victoria Derbyshire's BBC 2 programme
The Foreign Office statement as seen on Victoria Derbyshire's BBC 2 programme

“Foreign Office staff in India have been providing support to all six men since their arrest and are working to make sure their welfare is protected in prison.”

The pressure to free the Brits is being ramped up by The Sun newspaper which launched a campaign with the front page headline ‘Hell for Heroes’ after a bailing hearing was postponed ahead of their appeal. Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Joanna Lumley have all sent messages of support.

Today (Wednesday, November 2) relatives of the jailed men and their lawyer Stephen Askins appeared on the BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire programme where he told the men’s story.

Stephen Askins is the lawyer working on behalf of the six British men locked in an Indian jail
Stephen Askins is the lawyer working on behalf of the six British men locked in an Indian jail

He said: “I think it’s really important to put into context what the men were doing because you can easily lose sight of the fact that what they were doing was routine in the context of maritime security and protecting world shipping from Somali pirates.

“At one stage we had 40 ships and 1,100 people held hostage. The international community said we must arm our ships so these men, that’s exactly what they were doing.”

Ray Tindall is looking to return home soon
Ray Tindall

He said the men had been convicted of illegally importing weapons into territorial waters which he described as ‘a nonsense’.

More than 378,000 people have signed a petition urging Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to press for the men’s release and more than £43,000 has been raised to fund their legal fight.