A MAN serving a jail sentence in Cyprus for drugs offences claims he has been beaten by guards and had a gun pushed into his face.

Paul Hartley, of Burnley, has spoken about his ordeal in the 100-year-old Cyprus Central Prison where three people share a cell in 40 degree temperatures.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "I can confirm that there has been a formal complaint.

"The High Commissioner in Cyprus will pass that complaint on to the police authorities and we would expect them to investigate and let us know the result."

A member of Hartley's family in Burnley said he had complained of the beating but said they did not want to make any further comment.

Hartley, 25, of Harle Syke, and Lee Mortimer, 22, of Padiham, last month received three year jail sentences for importing ecstasy tablets to the holiday island.

It is not known if Mortimer has made any allegations.

They had faced sentences of at least seven years for supplying drugs, but received the shorter sentence after pleading guilty to importing and possession of the drug.

The Cypriot authorities have declared a zero tolerance policy on drugs after the main resort, Ayia Napa, became known as a junkies' paradise.

Hartley, a married man with two daughters, was interviewed by a radio journalist when he made complaints about his treatment in jail.

The interview was not allowed to be broadcast. The extent of any injuries is not known.

A prison spokesman said the prison was not a hell hole, but neither was it a four star hotel.

The prison, which looks like a sandstone fort, has 350 prisoners, 100 more than it is designed to hold.

Prisoners range from petty crooks to murderers.

Despite the stifling summer heat there is no air conditioning.

A spokesman at the British High Commission in Cyprus said it was normal for people sent to prison on the island to serve their sentences there rather than be transferred to a prison in England.