THE distraught mother of a Bromsgrove squaddie facing 50 years in a notorious Thai jail for possessing ecstasy tablets has been dealt a fresh blow - after hearing the family must also raise cash to pay a £25,000 fine.

As 27-year-old Lance Whitmore's parents prepare to mount an appeal against the sentence that could see him in prison until he is 77, his mother, Debbie Casewell, has resorted to knocking on doors in Bromsgrove in a desperate plea for cash.

"The sentence is just beyond crazy," said 51-year-old Miss Casewell, of Rowan Close.

"Mass murderers don't get that.

"I couldn't speak for two days when I heard he had got 50 years - it's totally off the rails."

Miss Casewell revealed that the lawyer representing Lance in Thailand had now told the family they also had to pay a £25,000 fine.

Lance was arrested with an Australian friend in the coastal resort of Pattaya 11 months ago after officers found them in possession of 200 ecstasy tablets.

He pleaded guilty to possession of drugs - an offence which can carry the death penalty in a country with some of the harshest drug laws in the world.

The family - who claim the former British soldier's grief over the sudden deaths of his 25-year-old Thai fiancee Jitma Tahin and of his grandfather tipped him over into carrying drugs for a friend - had hoped his guilty plea would win him a much lesser sentence, possibly 10 years.

Their hopes now are pinned on an appeal to reduce the sentence, currently being prepared by lawyer Nathan Feeney - and a possibility that, after he has done four years in jail, Lance could apply to be transferred to spend the rest of his time in a British prison.

Lance and his Australian friend spent three days manacled at a 'safe house' after their arrest before being sent to the notorious Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok.

Russell Whitmore, Lance's 54-year-old father, who runs a bar in Pattaya, broke down in tears as his son was led to the cells after being sentenced last week at Ratchada Criminal Court.

Mr Whitmore said Lance was "doing dreadfully" in prison, which he described as "worse than a POW camp", and his weight had plummeted on a diet of rotten rice and fish heads, sleeping on a concrete floor and with cockroaches running around.

During his time on remand, his family claim he witnessed two stabbings and an attempted rape and was crammed in with 74 other prisoners in a block designed to hold just 20 inmates.

And Miss Casewell fears his conditions could be even worse now, saying: "I hear he's been moved to Cell Block 9, where the big-time criminals are.

"For 200 ecstasy tablets, 50 years is ridiculous."

The family has so far raised about £1,000 towards helping with legal fees - £400 of which has flooded in over the last week.

They are appealing for people to pledge money through the Facebook site "Help Get Lance Whitmore Home" and a site called "helplance.org.uk

Miss Casewell said: "At the moment I don't know what happens if we can't raise the £25,000 fine, whether it might mean he has to serve even longer or what.

"But we also need money for an appeal.

"On the whole, people have been fantastic - we've now got over 2,000 people on the Facebook site from all over the world and if each of those gave £2 a month, we could pay the legal bills.

"I've also been knocking on doors locally in Bromsgrove and people on the whole have been really good.

"I hope to be able to travel to Thailand soon because I desperately need to see Lance."

Lance, a former South Bromsgrove High School pupil, moved to Thailand five years ago, where he found work with Petroleum Oil Services after he discharged from the Army following a back injury while training.

Miss Casewell said she accepted that her son had done wrong in having the ecstasy tablets but added: "At the end of the day he's made a mistake - but nobody deserves that sentence."