AN arms dealer locked up in India for the past five years has been offered fresh hope of freedom.

After being held for four years without trial, Peter Bleach was convicted in February last year of smuggling weapons to Muslim rebels and sentenced to life imprisonment - a crime he maintains he did not commit.

He has always claimed he was acting with the full knowledge of the British Secret Service on a project designed to flush out extremists.

Four Russians and a Latvian, who were arrested with him, have since been released after intervention by their governments.

But, Bleach - whose family live near Scarborough, North Yorkshire - has remained behind bars, despite an appeal for clemency by Home Secretary Jack Straw.

His mother, Oceana, confirmed yesterday that her son's solicitors in India had faxed details of a hearing, which could prove a significant step towards freedom.

The Indian Supreme Court will decide on Monday if 49-year-old Bleach will be given permission to challenge an earlier ruling which denied him the chance to appeal for remission.

His mother said: "I just hope something will materialise. The others have all be allowed free, so why not my son? "I just hope and pray, one day, he will be allowed to come back home."

However, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in London could not confirm any progress in the case.