AN ex-British soldier from Bromsgrove who was caught with hundreds of ecstasy tablets in Thailand has been jailed for 50 years.

Lance Whitmore, 27, was arrested with an Australian friend in the coastal resort of Pattaya 10 months ago where officers found them in possession of 200 tablets.

Police discovered another 60 pills at his friend’s flat and the pair spent three days manacled at a 'safe house' before being sent to the notorious Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok.

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

Lance pleaded guilty to possession of drugs - an offence which can carry the death penalty.

His desperate family were hoping for a shorter sentence on account of his guilty plea but has today been jailed for 50 years with no chance of parole.

It means he will not be released until 2065 - when he is 77 years old.

Lance’s dad Russell, 54, who runs a bar in Pattaya, broke down in tears as his son was led to the cells at Ratchada Criminal Court.

He said: "I was in court for the sentence. I was hoping for a much shorter sentence and I'm totally devastated. It's horrendous.

"We are trying to organise an appeal but the British Embassy is next to useless. They are scared of the Thai Government.

"Lance is doing dreadfully inside. It's worse than a POW camp. Conditions are even worse than they were 10 months ago.

"There are cockroaches everywhere and they feed the prisoners rotten rice and fish heads.

"I travel 10 to 12 hours every week just to take him some proper food.

"I gave him two towels which he was sleeping on but the guards took them away because they said he was too comfortable.

"All the prisoners have to sleep on a concrete floor. It's inhuman.

"He was set up by secret police. They go around targeting tourists in bars and offering them drugs. It's entrapment.

"It's been a horrendous ordeal for the whole family."

During his time on remand, Lance’s family claim he witnessed two stabbings and an attempted rape and is crammed with 74 other prisoners in a block designed to hold just 20 inmates.

The former squaddie and body builder has been forced to share an open latrine and has plummeted in weight.

Speaking in March, his mum Debbie Caswell, 51 said: "He is my only son, the light of my life.

"He has done wrong, but there is a reason he got mixed up in all that, everything that was going on.

"I know he was not in his right mind. He was vulnerable, very vulnerable. He was in a very bad place.

"If I could change places with him, I would. If I could walk in there and take over, I would.

"Having more than 70 blokes in one cell with one toilet where there is Aids and everything else. If dogs were kept in those conditions, there would be outrage.

"He is really upset, he says how sorry he is. I have always believed in God and he has turned to the Bible. His faith has kept him going.

"Lance is a kind, caring, unselfish, loving person who always put others before himself. He would help anyone in need."

Lance moved to Thailand five years ago where he found work with Petroleum Oil Services after he discharged from the Army following a back injury while training.

His family, who have spent thousands of pounds in legal fees, claim evidence was tampered with to increase his sentence and that he has been denied his basic human rights.

His lawyer, Nathan Feeney, says 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.

Yesterday he confirmed the family would be launching an appeal against the sentence.

Mr Feeney said: "Lance has been sentenced to a life sentence of 50 years at Ratchada Court. He will serve his time at Bam Bat Klong Prem in Bangkok. We are formulating an appeal now and must submit it within 30 days.

"Lance is distraught but he is hopeful about the appeal."

Thailand has some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Possession of illicit substances can carry a mandatory life sentence or even the death penalty.

His family have launched a Help get Lance Whitmore home Facebook group asking for donations to fund an appeal.