THE York parents of charity worker Ian Stillman are hoping the New Year will bring his long-awaited release from an Indian jail.

Mr Stillman, whose father and mother Roy and Monica Stillman live in Tadcaster Road, is serving a ten-year sentence after being convicted of cannabis possession.

Mr Stillman, who is deaf, has always denied the charge, and an appeal has been heard, but the verdict was delayed in the autumn after a judge suffered a heart attack. His parents had been hoping he would win his appeal and be a free man in time for Christmas.

But although the judge has been back at work for some weeks now, he has still been working through a backlog of cases and has not yet dealt with Ian's appeal.

Roy Stillman told the Evening Press that the family had initially been depressed at the further delay in dealing with the case.

But then Ian's son, Lennie, succeeded in spending two-and-half-hours with his father in jail on Christmas Day, taking with him a chicken and vegetables to eat.

"He even produced a table cloth. And visitors are normally allowed 20 minutes a week," said Roy.

He said Ian had been in very good spirits and that had raised the spirits of the whole family. "We are not too disheartened."

Roy Stillman said he was increasingly hopeful both that the judgement will be given soon - hopefully this week, just after New Year's Day - and also that it would result in his son's release.

He said that if he was freed, Ian would probably need to spend a couple of months recuperating in India before flying back to Britain.

Updated: 10:17 Monday, December 31, 2001