Grandmother jailed for attempted cocaine smuggling

Pat Edwards, 64, who lived in sheltered accommodation in Newton Road on the Landport estate, has already spent the past 10 months in jail in Sao Paulo after being arrested at the city airport on December 4 2006.

The time she has already served will be taken into account and there is a possibility she will be able to return to England to serve part of the sentence.

Mrs Edwards has repeatedly told the Express she is not a drug-runner and has insisted the drugs were found in suitcases which she had borrowed from someone else.

In her latest letter said: 'My sentence is four years of reclusion.

'I don't know what that means but the girls here say it is good because the months I have been here are taken into account.'

Mrs Edwards has been in extremely poor health and now weighs just seven-and-a-half stone.

But she said her condition was improving and she has found a job at the prison and is now able to buy toiletries, food and cigarettes.

She also repeated her plea for her three sons to contact her.

Mrs Edwards said she has been helped by letters from her friends and Express readers.

She said: 'So many of your readers have written to me and it was lovely to read the letters, please thank them for me.'

She also praised Prisoner's Abroad, a charity which has given her financial help and organised, and paid for the postage of, the letters.

Theresa Gilson, from Prisoner's Abroad, said there was a chance Mrs Edwards could serve part of her sentence at home.

She said: 'There is a possibliity of a transfer to the UK because we do have a treaty with Brazil.

'But it is a very slow and laborious processs and certainly wouldn't happen straight away.

'The British authorities and the Brazilian authorities would have to be satisfied the processes and paperwork have been throughly completed and that could take months.'

She also said under Brazilian law prisoners were entitled to parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence but this was rarely possible for foreign nationals because the authorities needed a Brazilian address and promise of employment.