A SWINDON man who left his life in the Philippines behind in order to avoid jail has spoken of the horrific conditions he faced in the south east Asian country.

Patrick Walsh, 68, of Old Town, Swindon, was living in the Philippines when police arrested him for carrying a switchblade during a gun ban at a time when the country was in turmoil because of recent elections.

Mr Walsh, who is married to a Filipino woman, owning land and a house in Tiwi, 12km outside of Tabaco City, said he wanted to offer his support to Stratton couple, Gerald and Marie Taylor after reading about Kevin Taylor’s plight in last Friday’s Adver.

Mr Taylor 45, is currently languishing in a jail in the capital Manila along with wife Charlene, 31, after they were arrested a year ago on charges relating to illegal recruiting.

Mr Walsh said: “I was concerned when I read the story. My idea was to speak to the people about what it was like over there.

“I know he is up against it, unless you know somebody very powerful and you have a lot of money.”

In April this year, Mr Walsh spent 14 hours in a holding cell, until one of his step-daughters was able to get him released, after a Filipino informed police he was carrying the knife. He said he did not believe he was breaching the gun ban.

While in his cell, Mr Walsh managed to take pictures on his mobile phone. The pictures show an empty cell with just concrete floor space and damp patches where water had leaked in.

Mr Walsh said: “You’re in shorts and a vest and you have just got concrete to lie on. The temperatures range from 25 to 40 degrees depending on the time of year. You cannot go on like that.”

He was later issued with a subpoena summoning him to appear in court on April 15, but his name, age and nationality were incorrect so he refused to sign it.

Before the courts could issue a new subpoena Mr Walsh, an electrical trainer and assessor and a former chief technician in the RAF, made plans to leave the country.

He travelled to Manila with his step-daughter, where he said he paid around 86,000 Philippine pesos, or approximately £1,200, to an immigration specialist, or “fixer”, to get the paperwork required, including a compulsory ID card.

He did not contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the British Embassy in Manila, leaving the Philippines on Saturday, April 24, for London, before returning to Swindon, where his two sons live.

Now Mr Walsh, an Irish national, said he cannot go back to the Philippines where his four-bedroom house and land will be taken over by his wife and step-daughters.

He said: “If I go back there, unless somebody has paid an awful lot of money, I will get picked up at the airport and go to jail.”