A TEACHER jailed in Thailand for drugs offences could be home six months earlier after the country's Queen brought forward his repatriation.

Christopher Egan, 34, whose parents live in Whalley, was expected to be allowed to complete his four-year jail term in Lancashire next November.

But Queen Sirikit of Thailand has given Mr Egan an 'amnesty' and knocked six months off that time to celebrate her 72nd birthday.

Mr Egan will then be sent to complete half his sentence in a Lancashire jail.

Today, Mr Egan's father Tony told of his delight at the move and his gratitude to the Foreign Office and British Embassy.

Although Mr Egan, a former pupil of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, pleaded guilty to possessing eight amphetamine tablets, he strenuously denies the allegation.

It is believed the drugs may have been planted by police informers, who profit from the arrest of Westerners.

But that suspicion would have been hard to prove -- and if convicted following a trial Mr Egan could have faced 25 years in jail.

Therefore he decided to plead guilty, knowing he could be back home within two years.

Mr Egan, who had been working as an English teacher in Chiang Mai prior to his arrest in March, has been enduring horrific conditions in the city's central jail.

His father said: "Last time I was visited him, he had to step over two dead AIDS victims to collect his pills.

"They don't move the bodies because of reincarnation and they think the spirit is still there.

"Someone committed suicide and was left hanging for three days.

"The paradox is that there is no brutality from the guards. It is just the conditions."

On his son's release, he added: "His amnesty was because people knew he was there and because of his good behaviour -- he has been teaching English to the Thais.

"We have had fantastic support from the Foreign Office and British Embassy."