An appeal by a Cumbrian ex-soldier will have to be reheard - after the judge finally admitted it is too complicated for him.

John Armstrong and his family have been waiting 11 months for the result of the appeal against his conviction, which has left him languishing in an Indian jail.

The 30-year-old, from Wigton, is one of six Britons convicted in January 2016 of illegally possessing guns in Indian waters. This is despite the men all possessing British firearms licences allowing them to work for the American anti-piracy firm Advanfort.

The men - known as the Chennai Six - have always protested their innocence and launched an almost immediate appeal against their conviction and sentence.

That was finally held in November 2016, but the judge "stood down" his verdict, with no date to deliver it.

Yesterday John's family, back home in Wigton, were given the news that a verdict will not come - and the appeal must be reheard.

Joanne Thomlinson, his sister living in Blennerhasset, explained: "We've been waiting every day since for a judgement to be given.

"Yesterday the judge formally stood aside from the case in open court, as the pressure was mounting on him to deliver a verdict and he admitted the case was too complicated for him."

However, it is not necessarily bad news, insists the 32-year-old mum-of-two.

"We knew after this length of time that something wasn't right," said Joanne. "Judgements are expected to be delivered within three months and we have waited nearly a year.

"The case will be allocated to a new judge and we expect the chief justice to give a time frame for the hearings, so that it can't take the same length of time as last time.

"Even though this is a step back - in that the appeal has to be reheard - it is actually the biggest step forward that we have had in almost a year, as the entire case has just been at a standstill."

Thursday marks four years since the 35 men on board the Seaman Guard Ohio were arrested. After six months in prison, they were released on bail and then the charges were quashed.

However, a subsequent appeal by the Indian police saw the charges reinstated, and led to the eventual court case.

A lobby is planned in the House of Commons to mark the anniversary, before John's five-year-old nephew Josh - who doesn't remember his uncle - helps present a petition at Downing Street.

The petition has 405,000 signatures urging the British Government to take action.