A Cumbrian man who will spend another four months in a dirty prison cell in India said his life has been turned upside down.

John Armstrong, of Wigton, was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by the ruling of an Indian court that arguments for bail would only be heard during the main appeal in June, meaning he will have to stay in prison until then.

He is one of six Britons, along with 29 others from Estonia and Ukraine, convicted of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition in Indian waters.

All the men, who have been detained in the country for about 875 days, insist they are innocent as they were working as armed security guards on board the Seaman Guard Ohio, an American owned anti-piracy ship.

After hearing that he and other men were refused bail, writing from his prison cell in India, the 27-year-old former paratrooper said: “I’m obviously shocked and extremely disappointed. In 2014 the same High Court granted us bail and quashed all charges against us, rightly so, as they accepted our ship was an anti-piracy vessel.

“I’ve spent eight months of my life in a dirty prison cell now and nearly two and a half years trapped in India.

“My life has been turned upside down, as has my family’s, for absolutely nothing.”

He continued: “There was absolutely no wrongdoing by anyone on the ship and all of the arms on board held valid licences, many of them issued by the UK Government.

“At court during the trial the district collector who sanctioned the charges admitted on the stand, ‘I would not have charged these men had I seen these documents’, referring to the weapons licences and paperwork that had been seized by the police and which were produced during the trial. Yet now there are 35 men sitting in prison serving five years for absolutely nothing.

“The company we worked for has abandoned us. Our lives have been taken away from us.”

Mr Armstrong wanted to thank the readers of the News & Star and its sister paper The Cumberland News for their support throughout the ordeal, but, he said: “I still need help and support, more now than ever.”

He is also calling on the UK Government and the international maritime community to intervene, adding: “They know our conviction is an injustice. We are suffering needlessly. I just want my old life back.”

The families of the six British men have also started a fund to raise £100,000 to ensure they have a lawyer to represent them.

Readers can back a petition to free the six British men at www.change.org/p/british-foreign-secretary-free-the-6-british-ex-soldiers-from-indian-jail .

To donate to the fund, text FSGO66 £1 to 70070 and keep up-to-date with the campaign by searching Free The Seaman Guard Ohio6 on Facebook or following @freesgo6 on Twitter.