Freed driver thanks campaigners

Jubilant: Mr Hudson arrives at Heathrow Airport

A British lorry driver jailed in Macedonia over a fatal road accident has thanked a fellow trucker for helping to secure his release in time for Christmas.

Richard Hudson, 46, from Stenson Fields in Derby, always denied causing a crash in which two people were killed as he was delivering vital supplies to Nato troops.

Mr Hudson arrived on Friday at Heathrow, where he was greeted by his parents and son, after being granted a presidential pardon.

He said a blockade staged in the Balkan state by Shropshire-based haulier "T-pot" Jenkins had proved vital in highlighting his plight.

He proved that one man really can make a difference

Richard Hudson

"T-pot had the guts to stand up to the obvious injustice of it all," said Mr Hudson.

"He really did stick his neck out for me and I can't thank him enough."

The lorry driver served 17 months in jail after losing an appeal against his conviction for dangerous driving.

He was taking supplies to British troops serving with K-For when the accident happened near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, in July last year.

The Serbian and Macedonian victims died when their vehicle left the road at high speed.

Mr Hudson stopped to help but was arrested and later jailed for two years.

Trucker's protest

On Saturday, the freed trucker also thanked MEP Philip Whitehead, South Derbyshire MP Mark Todd and pressure group Fair Trials Abroad and those who wrote letters of protest to the Macedonian government for their efforts to secure his release.

"I would like to say how grateful I am to all the people that have enabled me to be released before Christmas. It's brilliant to be back."

"T-pot" Jenkins, 43, from Telford, was arrested in April this year after blocking the gates of Nato HQ in Brussels and refusing to get down from the lorry's roof.

A week before his Brussels protest, he staged a similar demonstration on the Kosovo-Macedonia border to protest Mr Hudson's innocence and was handed by Polish soldiers to Americans troops who released him after a few hours.

Mr Hudson said he was not bitter about his treatment, adding: "After three or four months in jail I realised the justice system over there was so corrupt that what was happening wasn't a surprise."

'Conviction was political'

He said he felt let down by Nato.

"They just washed their hands of me and although I will continue to drive lorries I think I will stick to the EU from now on."

The Fair Trials Abroad group believes the conviction was political, claiming pressure was applied on the court to convict because Mr Hudson worked for K-FOR.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The welfare of British citizens overseas is always a major concern of ours. While we cannot interfere in the other country's judicial process we welcome his pardon."