​Two plane spotters who were arrested in India have been charged with intercepting communications.

Holidaymakers Stephen Hampton, 46, of Keynsham, and his friend Steve Ayres, 56, of St George in Bristol have been charged under the Asian country’s Telegraph Act and are due in court tomorrow.

The pair went to India to watch planes, a hobby they have shared for many years and which has taken them all over the world.

They were accused of spying and their room at the Radisson Hotel, overlooking the runway at Indira Gandhi airport in Delhi, was raided by armed police.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We cannot speculate on the outcome of the trial, but we can confirm that consular staff have been in regular contact with both British nationals and continue to provide consular assistance. 

“We are also in touch with the next of kin in the UK and keeping them informed of developments.

“They are due in court tomorrow.”

Mr Hampton and Mr Ayres had flown to Delhi on February 11 and asked for a room overlooking the airport runway.

According to Delhi police, the two tracked the arrival and departure of flights of several major airlines.

Mr Ayres, described by his family as such a technophobe that he does not even have a mobile phone, had just a pair of binoculars and a notepad.

Mr Hampton, who is a railway conductor, had a camera, a laptop computer and a "gadget" that attaches to the laptop.

Staff at the hotel were suspicious and alerted police, who arrested the two men.

The police were concerned that the equipment Mr Hampton had with him could interfere with communication between aircraft and the airport's communication tower.

Dan Norris, MP for Wansdyke, has been liaising with the Foreign Office to try to bring them home.

He said: “These incidents don't happen very often but the Consular Office is very skilled in dealing with such situations.

“It's about trying to get the authorities to move as quickly as possible to finish whatever they are doing and to make a decision. Hopefully that will be for the men to come home.

“I was able to speak to Stephen on his mobile and I took that as a good sign.

“If they felt he was a spy they wouldn't have allowed me to speak to him. I spoke to David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and he assured me that everything was being done diplomatically to get the men home as soon as possible.

“Mrs Cock was really pleased to be able to speak to her son and was able to reassure him that everything possible was being done to get him home.”

Security services in India are on high alert after a cafe was bombed in the city of Pune.

The men's passports were seized and they were questioned.

Intelligence agencies checked their recent travel to find out if they had been to Pakistan, Bangladesh or any similar locations.

Police commissioner YS Dadhwal said: “We detained them as they were involved in suspicious activities.”

Mr Ayres's wife Dorothy and his two daughters Katy, 23, and Helen, 19, have appealed to the Indian authorities to allow him to come home.

Mrs Ayres, who has known her husband for 26 years, said he simply liked transport including trains, hot air balloons and buses, but mainly planes and was no spy.

She said: “He doesn't even own a mobile phone.

“Whenever we go on holiday we have to overlook the airport.

“He's always got his binoculars round his neck.

“I haven't spoken to him since he went away.

“I spoke to Eileen, Steve's mum, and she said they had been taken to a detention centre.

“They had been taken to have a drink and something to eat at the hotel and were then told they had to go somewhere to fill out forms so they could be deported.

“Then he phoned from the detention centre. He said it was a hell hole.”

Katy said: “We do rib him about his hobby but that is all that it is.

“I just want to hear his voice, to know that he is all right.

“He has been to Hong Kong, China, America, all over the world plane spotting without a problem.

“This is the first time he has gone to India.”

She said her son Ryan was missing his grandad.

Mr Ayres works at St Philip's Marsh alongside Railway Maritime and Transport union rep Tony Birch.

Mr Birch said: “I've known Steve for three years.

“He's a well-known plane spotter and so is his mate.

“I've negotiated with the company and they have put them on annual leave.

“We are all supportive of them.

“This is just a matter of crossed wires and I hope it can be sorted out soon.”

Mr Ayres and Mr Hampton had been due to go to India with two other plane spotters from Bristol but there was a booking mix-up and the two other men went the previous week.

Mr Hampton, who lives with his father in Keynsham, managed to call one of his friends in Bristol to tell him what had happened and the friend told Mr Hampton's mother Eileen Cock, 80.

Mrs Cock, a retired secretary, spoke to her son on Friday afternoon.

She said: “He's in a detention camp, he's not quite sure what is going on.

“They are very distressed because they are in a place with a lot of other people and poor sanitation.

“They are the only westerners among 30 to 50 others.

“I also spoke to him on Wednesday. He said could I please, please do all I could to help him to get home.

“They spent two nights under guard at the hotel.

“On Thursday morning they were pleased to be allowed to go into the foyer for a snack and a drink and then I had a call saying they were on their way to a foreign registration office.”