PRISON authorities in India are refusing to give urgent medical treatment to a deaf British charity worker, his father has claimed.

Ian Stillman, 51, has been in jail for the past year after he was convicted of possessing cannabis - a charge he has consistently denied.

Now his father, Roy Stillman, who has just returned from a ten-day visit to Simla prison in northern India, claims his son's life could be in danger unless he receives immediate medical attention.

A recent doctor's report said that Stillman, who had a leg amputated several years ago after a road accident, was having circulation problems which could ultimately lead to the loss of his healthy leg.

Mr Stillman senior, 77, of Tadcaster Road, York, said: "There is a real danger that he could lose his leg and his life is in danger, but nothing seems to be happening. We are almost at the end of our tether with it.

"I went to see the High Commission twice. It is in their remit to ensure the care and welfare of British citizens, but they are not doing it. It is more than a month since the medical report was received, and he still hasn't been treated."

Mr Stillman, whose visit represented the first time he had seen his son in two years, said the family would be lobbying the Home Office for action. They are also trying to arrange an appeal hearing in India's Supreme Court.