FAMILY, friends and supporters of the 'Freshwater Five' have marked the ninth anniversary of the events which led to the men being jailed for a total of 104 years.

Around 80 people walked from the Highdown car park to the area at Tennyson Down, where it was alleged the police saw 12 rucksacks containing 255kg of cocaine with a street value of £53million in 2010, were dropped off in Freshwater Bay.

Jamie Green and fellow Islander, scaffolding business owner Jonathan Beere, who was not a member of the crew and not on board the boat at the time, were each jailed for 24 years after being convicted of conspiracy to import the drugs.

Another Island man, Daniel Payne, received an 18-year sentence. Two other men, Scott Birtwistle and Zoran Drecic, were also convicted.

A trial heard the men, nicknamed the 'Freshwater Five,' picked up the rucksacks containing cocaine in a Force 8 gale in the middle of the English Channel after their fishing boat, the Galwad-y-Mor, crossed the wake of a Brazilian container ship.

Police said they then dumped the drugs overboard off Freshwater Bay for someone else to collect.

Appeal solicitor Emily Bolton said: “Supporters gathered where police claim they saw the drugs being dumped into the water.

"Yet, from this spot, it is impossible to see the location the drugs were found.

"The sheer number of local people who turned out to demand justice demonstrates the strength of support for the men.

"People in this community are asking for answers and are still waiting to get them.

"Jamie's sister Nicky, and Jon's wife Sue, were acknowledged by the crowd on the cliff top for the fight and grit they have shown over the last nine years in their efforts to clear the men's names."

Ms Bolton said they were expecting to hear whether appeal applications against the convictions lodged on behalf of Beere and Payne, but affecting all the men, will be granted after her team uncovered new radar evidence she said contradicted the prosecution's claims about the relative positions of the Galwad-y-Mor and container ship on the night.

Birtwistle has already been released after serving half his sentence and it is expected Payne will be released shortly.

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