A TEACHER is starting a four-year jail term in a Thai prison after admitting drugs offences.

Blackburn man Christopher Egan was facing up to 28 years behind bars after he was arrested carrying drugs in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

Today his family spoke of their relief at the short sentence and their hope that he will be transferred to a British jail.

Egan, 34, had been working as an English teacher in Chiang Mai before his arrest in March. Thai vice officers raided a house he was visiting and found amphetamine tablets in his bag.

He was sent immediately to the city jail, where he has been awaiting his fate.

The former Blackburn man's parents, who now live in Whalley, admitted Egan had dabbled with drugs and was "no saint". But they maintain he was not dealing drugs and they still believe he could have been set up by police informers, who profit from the arrest of Westerners.

His father Tony Egan, 62, a retired accountant and former national treasurer for the Round Table, said: "We are very relived that our nightmare is now just a bad dream and there is light at the end of the tunnel."

The former Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School pupil must now adapt to life among the "falang", or non-white, population in Chiang Mai's prison.

According to his family life in the jail is not as harsh as others in Thailand, most notably the notorious Bangkok "Hilton", famed for its primitive regime.

Mr Egan, who recently returned from a trip to see his son said he had been sentenced quickly in exchange for his guilty plea. He added: "He was initially sentenced to 16 years, which was reduced to eight, which became four because he pleaded guilty.

"But he could have pleaded not guilty, waited three years for a trial and sentenced to 25 years, so we have to be grateful."

The family are now working towards a repatriation application, which they intend to lodge early next year. If the application is successful the Foreign Office said Egan would be eligible to serve part of his sentence in a British prison.

Egan's mother Joan said: "Our worry now is getting him home safely and back to a normal life, because he is losing his mind in there."

Confirming the sentence a Foreign Office spokesman said: "Christopher Egan was jailed for four years. His sentence was reduced because of a guilty plea. Records show he was convicted of narcotics offences.

"A person may only transfer when they have served a minimum period of of their sentence, which would vary according to the sentence received.

"Once back in the United Kingdom the sentence would be administered according to our parole law and arrangements."

Egan, 34, had been working as an English teacher in Chiang Mai before his arrest in March. Thai vice officers raided a house he was visiting and found amphetamine tablets in his bag.

He was sent immediately to the city jail, where he has been awaiting his fate.

The former Blackburn man's parents, who now live in Whalley, admitted Egan had dabbled with drugs and was "no saint". But they maintain he was not dealing drugs and believe he could have been set up by police informers, who profit from the arrest of Westerners.

His father Tony Egan, 62, a retired accountant and former national treasurer for the Round Table, said: "We are very relived our nightmare is now just a bad dream and there is light at the end of the tunnel."

The former Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School pupil must now adapt to life among the "falang", or non-white, population in Chiang Mai's prison.

According to his family life in the jail is not as harsh as others in Thailand, most notably the notorious Bangkok "Hilton", famed for its primitive regime.

Mr Egan, who recently returned from a trip to see his son said he had been sentenced quickly in exchange for his guilty plea. He added: "He was initially sentenced to 16 years, reduced to eight, which became four because he pleaded guilty.

"But he could have pleaded not guilty, waited three years for a trial and sentenced to 25 years, so we have to be grateful."

The family are now working towards a repatriation application, which they intend to lodge early next year. If the application is successful the Foreign Office said Egan would be eligible to serve part of his sentence in a British jail.

Egan's mother Joan said: "Our worry now is getting him home, because he is losing his mind in there."