A Braintree man was hoping for an emotional reunion with his brother on Friday after he was finally allowed to leave Bulgaria.

Donald Hobbs, of Tabor Avenue, his family, relatives and friends were due to arrive at Heathrow's terminal two to greet his brother Peter Hobbs and John Mills at 1pm.

Mr Hobbs of Tabor Avenue said: "Until we actually see him we won't know if its true. It will be a good moment and quite emotional."

Trucker Mr Mills and driver's mate Peter Hobbs both of Enfield, north London, were released from a transit camp early on Friday.

They were each jailed for seven years for heroin smuggling but were released last week after serving half their sentence.

Both men denied the crime saying the heroin was planted on them by Turkish drugs gangs.

The two men should have arrived home on Wednesday but were told they must remain behind bars until cut-price seats became available on a flight home.

Their ordeal could have lasted another two weeks until seats became available under a deal between the Bulgarian authorities and a local airline.

But a friend of Mr Mills's partner, who works at an Enfield travel agents, reserved two seats on the Balkan Bulgarian Airline flight on Thursday.

Mr Hobbs added a ceremony marking the final resting place of their late father George Hobbs - who died while Peter was in prison - can now go ahead.

"Now we can scatter dads's ashes off Southend pier hopefully on the first anniversary of his death," he added.

Mr Mills and Peter Hobbs were convicted of smuggling 20kg of heroin into Bulgaria after customs officials found the drugs hidden in an outside compartment of an empty lorry they were driving back to the UK in 1995.

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed the Bulgarian Government was paying for the two tickets and the men were due to fly out on Friday.

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