Plane spotter Christopher Wilson has still not received his £9,000 bail money back, three months after he was acquitted of spying-related charges.

Mr Wilson, 47, of Erica Way, Horsham, was arrested on espionage charges at a military air base in Kalamata on November 8, 2001 and spent six weeks behind bars.

The BT engineer, along with 11 other Britons and two Dutch citizens, paid over £9,000 to be allowed to return home in December 2001, five weeks after being arrested.

At a trial in Greece in April last year six Britons and two Dutchmen were given three-year jail terms for spying while Mr Wilson and the others received one-year suspended sentences for aiding and abetting.

However, at an appeal hearing last November a panel of judges overturned the convictions.

Mr Wilson, who has been a plane enthusiast for 35 years, returned to Britain with his wife Judy on November 8 last year but still has not seen a penny of the money owed to them.

Speaking from his home in Horsham at the time he said: "It was very draining and very expensive. None of us are wealthy people and it has cost us £9,500 in bail and £8,000 each in lawyers fees."

He had hoped to get the money back in December, but said most of that would go to lawyers as a second payment.

Andrew Jenkins, 32, of York, said each month they were told they would receive the money the next but the Greek authorities kept putting it off.

He said: "When it came to us getting out of prison back in December 2001 they wanted the money within 24 hours but as soon as it comes to getting it back they are not bothered.

"There is a certain malaise among the Greek authorities. I would not be surprised if it takes another six months to get it back. It is a big chunk of money to be without."

Mr Jenkins estimates that the one-week plane spotting trip, organised by Mildenhall-based Touchdown Tours, has cost him a total £25,000 in legal costs and lost earnings.