Glitter free in weeks

Fallen pop star Gary Glitter will be released from a Vietnamese prison later this month after serving almost three years for child sex offences.

The 'Leader of the Gang' hitmaker was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in November 2005 on suspicion of abusing children.

In March 2006, he was convicted of committing obscene acts with two girls, aged 11 and 12, and sentenced to three years imprisonment.

He was also ordered to pay $315 (€203) to the families of his victims.

Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, will be released from Thu Doc jail in Binh Thuan on August 19 and faces deportation when he is freed.

Vietnamese prison service official Chu Xuan Mau says: "According to Vietnamese law, Glitter will be freed on August 19".

"The decision on his release will be read before him that day. It will be signed by the director of the prison. We have sent his file to the provincial external relations office and relevant police offices."

Glitter, who has continued to protest his innocence while behind bars, was previously sentenced to four months in jail in the UK in November 1999 for possessing child pornography.