Two Sussex men imprisoned in Morocco for drug smuggling have arrived home after receiving royal pardons.

Paul Humble and Greg Saxby, both from Eastbourne, were among almost 10,000 prisoners, including five Britons, released to mark the birth of King Mohammed VI's son.

The pair, who have maintained their innocence after being convicted of smuggling £7 million- worth of cannabis, flew into Heathrow Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Humble, 41, spoke of his relief to be free.

He described how he shared his seven metres by five-and-a-half metres cell with 24 other prisoners.

"We would wash our feet, wash ourselves, our clothing and our cutlery with water out of this one tap."

Mr Humble said some fellow inmates at Sale prison on the outskirts of the capital, Rabat, were tortured.

In desperation, the pair joined more than 170 prisoners in January in a hunger strike.

Mr Humble, who has been supported by pressure group Fair Trials Abroad, said: "I will fight to clear my name. I don't know how but I will find out the best way to go about this.

"I have to vindicate myself. Five years of my life have gone down the toilet and I'm not going to let it drop."

Mr Humble and Mr Saxby were jailed for ten years in 1998 on charges of smuggling £7 million of cannabis in Morocco.

Their friends and families had lobbied authorities to secure their release, saying their arrest and conviction were a farce.

The pair claim their 40-minute trial in a Moroccan court without interpreters produced no evidence of smuggling.

Mr Saxby, 45, was met by his daughter and did not want to speak.