A HEREFORDSHIRE lorry driver spent three days in a French cell after a massive drugs haul was found in his trailer.

Ken Hathaway, from Bosbury, near Ledbury, was unable to contact his family and British police started a missing person search - unaware he was being questioned about 388kgs of Moroccan cannabis found hidden in his cargo.

Mr Hathaway appeared in a French court last Wednesday at 7pm. He was finally released after the court accepted he was unaware of the illegal cargo.

Before his court appearance - aware of the long periods of time spent by British lorry drivers in overseas prisons - he became convinced he would not be released while being held in his "stinking" cell in north west France.

Mr Hathaway had been stopped by customs last week and told by French officials he could serve a 10-year sentence for drug trafficking.

"It was the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me, and I was panicking. I haven't slept properly since I've been home," said Mr Hathaway, aged 55 "It was absolutely frantic at home because I had literally disappeared. I was reported as a missing person because the French authorities wouldn't let me contact my family, and the police were dealing with the fact I had gone missing.

"It was my worst nightmare - all international drivers fear somebody will do that to you. I was held for three days but I've heard about other drivers who have been locked up for 18 months, so I was extremely lucky."

He added that, while he while waited in "appalling" conditions and was being helped by interpreters, the gendarmes said he could face a substantial sentence for a first drug trafficking offence.

"I could hear them talking about me but didn't know what they were saying. When I told them I had no offences for trafficking, they said it shouldn't be too bad as I might only get a 10-year sentence," he said.

"I was put in a stinking cell - it was absolutely appalling - a concrete block with a hole in the ground to use as a toilet."

Mr Hathaway works for Kidderminster haulage company Breakwells and is full of praise for the backing the firm gave him and his family.

"We've been doing this job for a number of years, picking up from our regular place in Alicante in Spain, and going to a warehouse in Heathrow. I was stopped by customs officials in Vivi, near Angers, for a routine check," he explained.

"I was carrying two pallets of ceramic tiles. When they removed the top layer, there were two 10 kilo slabs of cannabis and 12 Moroccan suitcases', which have handles to lift the bundle."

Mr Hathaway, who was taken to Angers where his lorry is still stranded, said: "Without breaking into the pallet you wouldn't have known there was anything there, "I went before examining judges and they were satisfied I didn't know what was there. They released me on the understanding I would go back to give evidence, if needed."

Mr Hathaway, who has a limited grasp of French, does not bear a grudge against the French authorities. "They were just doing a job. The ones I resent were those who used me and the company I work for. I want to get back to work but how I will feel when I have to go back through France with a load from Spain, I don't know."