[Scan-DC] BRITONS FACE JAIL IN INDIA FOR PLANE SPOTTING

[Alan Henney]

Press Association Mediapoint

February 23, 2010 Tuesday 2:29 PM BST 

BRITONS FACE JAIL IN INDIA FOR PLANE SPOTTING

BYLINE: Lesley Richardson, Press Association

SECTION: HOME NEWS

LENGTH: 790 words

Two plane spotters were facing up to three years in an Indian jail today after they appeared in court accused of illegally monitoring aircraft.

Stephen Hampton and Steven Ayres aroused suspicion after asking hotel staff for a room overlooking a runway at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

They were carrying an air traffic control scanner, laptop, binoculars and cameras. 

Their arrest on February 15 came just two days after a bomb blast at a German Bakery in Pune, the first major strike of its kind in India since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008.

The men avoided spying charges, which carry a jail term of up to 10 years, but were charged with a lesser offence under section 20 of the Indian Telegraph Act which carries a three-year jail sentence and or a fine.

The men appeared at Patiala House Court, Delhi today when defence lawyer Rajeev Awasthi indicated they will plead guilty if the court accepts a fine as punishment.

Hampton and Ayres, both railway workers from Bristol, were released on bail but cannot leave the country. They were due back in court for a further hearing on March 3.

Mr Awasthi said: ``We have indicated to the court today that in case we are being let off with imposition of a fine we are willing to plead guilty.''

He added: ``We need to prove that this is not that serious which requires an imposition of sentence.

``They have done it without realising this is an offence in this country.

``There is no malice or motive behind it.''

Hampton's mother Eileen Cock said she was relieved the men were no longer being held in the New Delhi immigration centre.

The 79-year-old retired secretary from Bristol said: ``I feel a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders, at least for a few days.

``I'm hoping they will be able to come home now but at least they will be able to get some proper accommodation and catch up on some sleep so they can think straight about what is happening.

``It has been very hard in the detention centre.''

Ms Cock's MP Dan Norris said: ``I'm very relieved that they are released from the detention centre but will be redoubling my efforts now so they can return home hopefully on March 3.''

He said the Telegraph Act was ``an outdated colonial law'' and said: ``The judge wants to know more about this scanner and whether or not you can listen in to the conversations between pilots and air traffic control which apparently you can't.

``All this equipment does is pick up a beacon in every aircraft which identifies its make and the airline that runs it, and its full number so they can track them around the world.''

He said the conditions in the detention centre were basic with poor sanitation and the men were the only English speakers in a room they shared with about 50 other people.

He said: ``They will be glad to get a proper wash and catch up on sleep and start working out how to convince the judge that they are plane spotters using pieces of equipment the judge needn't be concerned about.''

Kinetic Avionics Ltd, which makes the scanner, has given both men financial support to help fund their legal and travel costs.

David Goodman, the company's chief executive, said: ``We believe they are passionate enthusiasts who are fulfilling their lifetime hobby of plane spotting.

``Whilst it may appear to some to be a strange hobby, gardening seems equally strange to me.''

The pilot, who is also a plane enthusiast, added: ``We have to hope that any judgment is a judgment with clemency and leniency.''

The equipment, an aircraft virtual radar receiver with built-in radio, allows the men to listen to aircraft on a virtual radar receiver and gives them a virtual 3D representation of the aircraft.

But, Mr Goodman said, it did not give them any information which was not already in the public domain.

He added: ``Essentially an enthusiast armed with a scanner and a pair of binoculars is only going to see first hand information that is already out there.''

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesman said: ``They did appear in court this morning. They have been granted bail. They are going to appear in court again on March 3.

``We are in regular contact with them and with their next of kin in the UK keeping them informed.''

But Mr Ayres's wife Dorothy, 54, told the Evening Post in Bristol no one from the Foreign Office had contacted her and that she was ``worried sick''.

``I don't blame the Indian authorities - they're just doing their job - but I just need someone to get in touch and give me some information,'' she said.

``He doesn't even take pictures of the planes. All he does is take the number.''

Rajan Bhagat, Delhi police spokesman, said: ``The allegations for which they were produced before the court, the offence is punishable for imprisonment up to three years.''