A FORMER British soldier jailed in India with five other veterans has described their ordeal as “mental torture” after being jailed on gun-running charges.

Ex-paratrooper Nick Dunn, from Ashington in Northumberland, is being held in India with former 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment serviceman Nicholas Simpson, 46, from Catterick Garrison and four others.

They were sentenced to five years on weapons charges after being detained on board an anti-piracy ship in 2013. They insist the weapons were held legally while they were protecting shipping from Somali pirates.

Mr Dunn, 30, said they were “desperate” for help in an interview with The Sun newspaper from Puzhal Central Prison in Madras. He said: “It is mental torture to be thrown in jail for a crime you didn’t commit. If it wasn’t for our military training we would have fallen apart.

“The Government needs to stand by us now like we stood by Queen and Country when we served.”

Nicholas Simpson and Nick Dunn were arrested with Paul Towers, from Pocklington, Billy Irving, from Connel, Scotland, Ray Tindall, from Chester and John Armstrong, from Wigton, Cumbria.

The group, along with crew including Indians, Estonians and a Ukrainian were on board a US-owned anti-piracy ship when it was detained.

After two years of legal wrangling the veterans were handed five-year jail terms after a court ruled they had failed to prove they were not importing guns to arm jihadist terrorists.

According to The Sun the men were being held in poor conditions and have suffered from dysentery. Mr Dunn said they were relying on emergency food packages sent from home.

In July the families of the men lobbied Parliament and handed a petition with over more than 372,000 signatures at Downing Street calling for the British Government to secure their release.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Our staff in India and the UK remain in regular contact with all six men and are continuing to support them and their families, working to make sure their welfare is protected in prison.

“We recognise what a difficult time this is for those involved. We cannot interfere with India’s independent legal system, just as other countries cannot interfere with ours, but we will continue efforts to make sure this case is resolved swiftly.”