AN East Lancashire-born model was today free from a living nightmare in an Indian jail after spending more than a year behind bars for a crime she claims she did not commit.

Samantha Slater was freed in an act of clemency by the Indian Government yesterday following a personal plea from Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind.

The 25-year-old backpacker was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year after police claimed that they had found cannabis among her possessions.

Her boyfriend Andy was arrested at the same time and sentenced to three years in jail.

But the Foreign Office today confirmed that Samantha was taken from the Central Prison in Kerala Province in the South West corner of the country at 5pm local time yesterday.

She was put in the care of a local bishop who has taken up her case and was today preparing to meet representatives from the British Consulate. Her mother Brenda Barker is understood to be flying out from her Birmingham home to be reunited with her daughter in Madras.

But other members of the family in the Blackburn area were celebrating today.

Samantha, formerly of Altom Street, was born in Blackburn and attended St Albans RC Primary School before leaving the area with her mother.

Her grandmother Margaret Slater, who lives in Blackburn, was today trying to contact Samantha's father Terry, who is on holiday in Tenerife to tell him about the release.

One member of the family said: "She has really gone through the mill and has not been very well.

"It takes such a long time to get news in and out of the prison and it has been an absolute nightmare for all the family, particularly her parents.

"My mother is in her 70s and thought she would never see her again. I can't wait to tell her the good news."

Samantha has suffered a dramatic loss of weight and her health has suffered because of the poor diet in the prison.

It is understood she was released following a plea from the Foreign Secretary during his recent visit to India.

But the Foreign Office confirmed that there is no news about her boyfriend.

The relative added: "The prison has been a living nightmare. It is hard for people to imagine how horribly some people are treated, particularly women, in other parts of the world."

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