The 12 plane spotters accused of spying in Greece were today meeting their legal team as their trial on espionage charges looms.

A Sussex man is among the group, who were released on bail last December after almost six weeks in prison.

They had been arrested within hours of arriving in the resort of Kalamata last November for a plane spotting trip.

Their trial begins tomorrow and many admitted they had mixed feelings about returning to the resort.

Chris Wilson, of Erica Way, Horsham, said: "We were arrested within an hour of getting to Kalamata, and no one had ever really asked us much about what we were trying to do.

"The authorities interviewed Paul Coppin (the tour leader) for hours but most of us were only asked two or three questions.

"I just hope we can get this finished and go home with our names cleared."

The legal teams defending the 11 British men, one British woman and two Dutchmen all arrested at an airbase in Kalamata last year were today continuing work on their case.

The group all deny a charge of espionage which carries maximum sentence of five years in jail.

They were originally accused of gathering secret information to pass to an enemy of Greece, a charge which would have carried a maximum penalty of 25 years.

Antoni Adamiak, 37, of London, said: "The worst case situation is that we would be convicted but probably only get a suspended sentence.

"I cannot believe they would send us to jail again, the outcry would hopefully be too much."

Part of the group's defence has been to try to explain that they were plane spotters pursuing their hobby, which is not understood in Greece as it is in Britain.