FREEDOM hopes for a former Worcester man being held with other British plane-spotters in Greece on suspicion of spying were dashed today.

The 12 Britons, including former Nunnery Wood High School pupil Wayne Groves, were detained on Thursday, November 8, in the south eastern town of Kalamata.

It was expected they may be released today but it has been reported they are to remain in custody after experts from the Greek air force examined intelligence reports on photographs and notebooks belonging to them.

A lawyer for the group, who had hoped that charges might be reduced or dropped altogether, said there was bad news from the report.

"It seems the experts from the air force, in their report, produced findings that not only support the existing charges, but have led the investigating judge to prepare to bring further charges against these people," Yannis Zacharias said.

A new charge would be trespass at an airfield which no civilian could approach, he added.

The 12, including a grandmother, together with two Dutch people, have denied taking photographs within a restricted military zone, which carries a maximum 20-year jail sentence in Greece, and is treated harshly because of the country's tense military situation with Turkey.

They are expected to be brought back before the judge either at the end of this week or next Monday.

Mr Zacharias suggested that their defence should be "individualised".

"I believe the majority of these people had nothing to do with the incidents," he said.

Mr Groves' father Donald, who lives in Worcester, had flown out to be with his 38-year-old son as he awaited the judge's ruling.