A PLYMOUTH man is sharing a tiny cell with three Hungarian prisoners in a Budapest jail.

Jason McGoldrick is allowed out of the 21ft by 11ft cell for only an hour a day.

His cellmates speak no English, and although he can watch television, the broadcasts are in Hungarian.

Mr McGoldrick is being held on remand, on suspicion of fraud, after being extradited under the new European Arrest Warrant.

He could be held without trial for up to four years while the Hungarian prosecutor gathers evidence, according to UKIP MEP William Legge, the Earl of Dartmouth, who returned from Budapest at the weekend.

Lord Dartmouth visited the jail on the outskirts of Budapest, and spoke to officials at the Hungarian Ministry of Justice, and to the prosecutor in charge of the case.

Mr McGoldrick, and his business partner Michael Turner, were extradited on November 2 last year on suspicion of fraud after the collapse of a marketing company they ran in Hungary.

They are being kept in separate cells and are not allowed to see each other.

Lord Dartmouth did not meet the men but was allowed to see a cell similar to the ones they are being kept in.

He said the cell had two sets of bunk beds, a toilet and a small table with four stools.

The men spend 23 hours a day locked up. They are allowed only one shower and three phone calls a week. They can have one family visit a month.

"They have already suffered a particularly cruel punishment, even before they come to trial," Lord Dartmouth said.

"They are being held with Hungarian prisoners, so there is a language barrier. Hungarian is one of the three most difficult European languages.

"This is a white-collar crime and involves about £30,000. I don't believe they would held in custody if they were in Britain.

"I spoke to the prosecutor in Budapest, but he wasn't able to give me any reassurance about a trial date. On the contrary, he said, 'We have a great deal more evidence to gather'."

"Under Hungarian law they can be held on remand for up to four years.

"You would find it easier to deal with if you had a trial date. You could tick off the days," Lord Dartmouth said.

"It was a very humbling and depressing experience."

The European Arrest Warrant was introduced in 2003. Lord Dartmouth said that all the British political parties except UKIP voted for it in the European Parliament.

"It was justified at the time because it was said that it would be used to deal with murderers and terrorists.

"But a lot of people warned that this was likely to happen.

"In the past, a judge would consider whether the evidence justified extradition, but with a European Arrest Warrant, all he is empowered to do is to make sure the form has been correctly filled out.

"Because of identity theft, it could happen to anyone. There but for the grace of God goes any one of us."

Mr McGoldrick, aged 37, lived in Plymouth until he started the business in Hungary about nine years ago. Mr McGoldrick is married with two daughters.

His mother, Margaret Knight, who still lives in Plymouth, declined to comment.