Mother of pregnant Brit accused of drug smuggling gives update on daughter's life behind bars

The mother of a pregnant British teenager who has been banged up abroad on drug smuggling charges has spoken out about the conditions she is being kept in.

Bella Culley has been detained in Georgia, a country in the South Caucasus region, since May after allegedly travelling from Thailand with around 12kg of marijuana and 2kg of hashish in her bags.

The 19-year-old was arrested at Tbilisi International Airport before being charged with drug smuggling and told she was facing up to 20 years behind bars.

Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, claimed that she had been tortured and 'coerced' into transporting the drugs.

Authorities in Georgia then offered her family a plea bargain, which involved stumping up a 'substantial sum' to secure her release.

The teenager was reportedly asked to find £215,000, but her relatives only came up with £137,000 - and for that price, she will likely receive a significantly reduced sentence instead.

It is expected that Culley will be locked up for two years when she appears in court tomorrow (3 November) to hear her fate.

Bella Culley, 19, is locked up in Georgia after being caught with drugs in her luggage (Rustavi 2)

This means that the teen will give birth to the child she is eight months pregnant with while she is behind bars and 2,600 miles from home.

According to Culley's mother, Lyanne Kennedy, she has now been transferred to a 'mother and baby' unit after spending five months in the notorious prison number 5 in Rustavi.

During this period of her incarceration, the mum-to-be was only entitled to one hour of fresh air daily, communal showers twice a week, and only had a hole in the ground for a toilet, her family claimed.

But since being moved, Culley is now allowed to cook for herself - and alongside women and children she's imprisoned with - while also having access to a 'proper toilet'.

Kennedy explained that her daughter has gained more freedoms at the prison mother and baby unit, while the conditions are also a vast improvement from what she was previously dealing with.

"She now gets two hours out for walking, she can use the communal kitchen, has a shower in her room and a proper toilet," Kennedy told the BBC.

"They all cook for each other. Bella has been making eggy bread and cheese toasties, and salt and pepper chicken."

The mum-to-be is now living in much better conditions after being moved to a prison mother and baby unit, her family said (TikTok/@bellamayculleyx)

Previously, Culley had been forced to boil pasta in a kettle and toast bread over a candle flame, Kennedy said.

The 19-year-old has also begun learning Georgian, according to her mother, who said she had been permitted to drop off some baby clothes for her impending grandchild.

Kennedy - who has been flying back and forth between the UK and Georgia - said that the family are doing everything they can to get their daughter home 'where she should be'.

She said the details of Culley's entire ordeal 'will come in time', adding: "Until then we are just a family doing everything we can for my daughter and grandson."

Culley's lawyer, Malkhaz Salakaia, told the BBC that once an agreement was reached in regards to the teen's sentence, he would appeal to the president of Georgia to pardon her.

Police in the country have reportedly launched a separate investigation into Culley's claims about being forced into carrying the drugs.