He was the most unlikely candidate to be landed with a drugs conviction.

A profoundly deaf diabetic with one leg who had devoted his life to charity work in India, one thing was for sure - Ian Stillman was no Howard Marks.

The announcement his supporters had been waiting for

But as he sat shivering in an unglazed prison cell in the foothills of the Himalayas, Mr Stillman must have wondered how it would all end.

On Friday morning, he emerged through the sliding doors at London's Heathrow airport to be greeted with cheers and applause from his family, friends and supporters.

After more than two years behind bars, he had been granted clemency by the Indian government, on condition he left the country which had become his adopted homeland.

Invited to stay

Although he did not receive a full pardon, as he had hoped, it's perhaps a reflection of how unjust the case against Mr Stillman is given that, following his release last weekend, he was invited to stay at the British High Commission in Delhi for several nights.

Accompanied on his return from Delhi by his grown-up son, Lennie, and brother-in-law Jerry Dugdale, Mr Stillman rolled into the arrivals lounge in a wheelchair.

I've a feeling it's not going to end here Family member Brendan Bowles

Well-wishers crowded around, using sign language to welcome him home. His broad smile and frantically waving arms showed his sheer joy at being back among friends.

At the back of his short entourage was an overloaded baggage trolley which carried Mr Stillman's prosthetic limb and two trunks of letters from supporters that had been sent to Mr Stillman in prison.

Thanks all round

"It's brilliant to be free," Mr Stillman told a news conference a few minutes later.

Protesters came to London in October

He thanked those who had campaigned for his release and even extended his gratitude to the Indian authorities for freeing him.

The unlikely story of Ian Stillman's conviction dates back to August 2000 when he was arrested in northern India and charged with carrying 20 kilos of cannabis.

At his trial, the judge refused to believe he was deaf and so denied him an interpreter. Mr Stillman denied the charges but was convicted and given a 10-year sentence.

Fight for rights

One of those waiting to greet him in London was his old friend and deaf rights campaigner, David Buxton.

Mr Buxton said the case illustrated ingrained hostility to deaf people in India and many developing countries.

Ian's wife, Sue, is still in India

"Things are improving gradually but India is very behind," said Mr Buxton, who two months ago had presented medical evidence of Mr Stillman's deafness to the Indian High Commission in London.

The guilty verdict had met with a remarkable response from deaf campaigners around the world.

In India, where Mr Stillman spent 30 years building up a charity to help the deaf, protests were staged calling for his release.

At the prison where he was held, guards were taken aback when deaf people turned up unannounced asking to see him, says Lennie Stillman.

Dietary needs denied

"The guards were so confused by Ian. Here was a man with one leg, who couldn't hear and received hundreds of letters a week. The other prisoners were always scrapping with each other, but Ian just remained calm."

Ian was held in Shimla, hundreds of miles from his home in Chennai

But his ailing health had become a worry to his family. A diabetic, Mr Stillman was refused a special diet, said Lennie, who quit his job in London to be close to his father.

"It was up to me to make sure he had fruit, vegetables and clean water."

With the on-set of winter this year, there were health worries. Requests to move him to a prison in the warmer south were turned down.

Winter toll on health

"The last winter took a huge toll on him. He never really picked up fully since then."

But it seems Mr Stillman's fight is not over yet. Renowned for his stoicism, he says he wants to return to India in the future to continue his charity work.

For that to happen, Mr Stillman will have to overturn his conviction.

"I've a feeling it's not going to end here," said another brother-in-law, Brendan Bowles. "Ian's a fantastic fighter. He has an iron will in all kinds of ways."