THE heartbroken father of a man jailed for fraud in the Philippines has launched another push to get his son released from prison.

Gerald Taylor’s son Kevin, 51, originally of Stratton, was jailed for 12 years along with his partner Charlene in 2009 for running an alleged employment scam.

The father-of-three, who has maintained his innocence throughout, has appealed to the Foreign Office, his MP and even the Pope to release him, but he remains incarcerated.

Now Gerald, 75, has written to Filipino justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to plead for an update on Kevin’s appeal for freedom.

Gerald said the strain of not being able to speak to Kevin face-to-face was something that intensified on a daily basis for him and wife Mary.

He said: “We are in a prison of our own. The mornings are the hardest because I wake up at 5am waiting for the phone to ring.

"I wait and if it doesn’t I know because of the time difference that we won’t be hearing from him today. And this has gone on for months.”

Fresh hope was sparked when the Filipino government announced it would free approximately 200 prisoners as a gift to the Pope with Kevin’s name submitted for clemency.

Gerald also hoped the election of a new president last year would mark a turning point and speed up Kevin’s release but as yet his situation remains unchanged.

Gerald and Mary have not been able to see Kevin on Skype in more than six months and communication by letter is very slow paced.

All the while Kevin’s health continues to deteriorate, he is almost blind, can barely walk and has boils and scabies.

The letter says: “We still have no means of communicating direct with Kevin and his aged and ailing parents in the UK are in a desperate state, not knowing his situation.

“Can you please inform as to what is the current situation with the Appeal for Executive Clemency on behalf of Kevin Taylor and Charlene? Might they be included in future lists? We trust that, under your expert guidance, matters will very soon come to a happy conclusion.

“It would be an act of enormous human kindness if you could inform me at your earliest convenience what is the current situation with Mr Kevin Taylor. His parents in the UK live only in the hope that they might see their beloved son once more before life fails them.”

Gerald said he fears never seeing Kevin again.

He said:“I think about him every day. We are not getting any younger and we don’t know how much time we have left. To see him home where he belongs is our main priority.

“We are in limbo. We can’t go away because we want to be here should he phone or anything develop.”