A BOLTON man has told of his nightmare in a Saudi Arabian jail.

Phil Lomax, who says he was never charged with an offence, spent 17 days in a tiny, filthy prison cell after his arrest by the country's religious police.

He claims he was hit on his arrest, and was forced to share the small cell with up to 40 other prisoners, and made to sleep on a floor which was crawling with cockroaches, lice and ants.

He was held in prison for a total of 70 days -- 53 in a second prison where his head was shaved -- before being thrown out of the country without charge.

His case has now been taken up by Amnesty International, who has launched a campaign highlighting the alleged abuse he suffered in Saudi Arabia.

The 40-year-old man, who used to live in Raby Street, off Chorley Old Road, before moving from the town, said: "The police burst into my house took me to their police station and I was thrown in jail which was absolutely horrendous. It was barbaric.

"It was only about five meters square, and there were anything between 30 and 40 people there, depending on who they had arrested. It was crawling with cockroaches, ants, mosquitos and lice.

"At meal times, a plate of rice was thrown in and you had to grab what you could."

The cell's toilet was just a hole in the ground which Mr Lomax says was never cleaned out during his stay.

Mr Lomax, who left Bolton in 1970, and was a former pupil at Chalfont Street Primary School, says police officers even tore up wedding photographs during his arrest. His wife Lia, who was on holiday in the Philippines where the couple now live, contacted the British Embassy staff on hearing of his arrest.

Mr Lomax, who was speaking to the BEN from the Philippines, said he believed the police officers were searching for an illegal makeshift bar, which had been set up in the Saudi Arabian compound where he was living.

He insists he had nothing to do with that. He was visited by British Embassy staff before eventually being put on a direct flight to London, having to leave his belongings behind, and his job as a general manager for a security firm.

He estimates his ordeal has cost him £50,000, and has since spoken to Saudi Arabian embassy staff about his nightmare stay in jail.

His father, Arnold, who still lives in Bolton, told of his anguish on learning of his son's imprisonment, which began last May.

Mr Lomax Snr, of Queensgate, Heaton, said: "I didn't know anything about it until he came out. I've not spoken to Phil for a long time, the Philippines is a long way away, but I am disgusted at what has happened to him."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed they were aware of Mr Lomax's situation and consul staff had visited him 19 times during his detention.

She added: "During all of that time Mr Lomax made no complaints about the prison conditions and he has never approached us since his release to raise this issue."

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