Drug smuggler wants to father child from jail
Tuesday, 9am: SPALDING prisoner Scott Hurford is hoping to make history by becoming the first man to father a child from behind bars.
Hurford is serving a 30-year prison sentence at HMP Wandsworth after he was caught in Thailand with 240 amphetamine pills hidden in his clothes in 2005.
But now he says he wants a child with his long-term Thai girlfriend Uria – and has enrolled in an artificial insemination programme to make his dream a reality.
The 34-year-old still has 25 years of his sentence to serve but may be able to have a child with 37-year-old Uria if his application is accepted.
In a letter from his cell, Hurford, who hopes to be out of prison on licence by 2020, said: "I am serving a very lengthy sentence and still have more than ten years left until release.
"My partner has stood by me and we would like to start a family. However, time isn't exactly on our side with me being 34 and my partner 37."
His mother Amanda Wright, who also has links with Spalding, said: "Scott definitely wants to have children with Uria.
"She was his girlfriend all through what happened in Thailand and they were together so long and really care for each other. They are still in contact all the time."
The Prison Service must take into account various factors before allowing the treatment,including the age of the woman involved, and how long the couple have been together.
They will also query who will pay for the IVF treatment attempt, which could cost betweem 4,000 to 8,000 per attempt.
Hurford was found on the Cambodian border in 2005 with the pills, which he is said to have confessed to selling to tourists in Chonburi to pay off a 600 gambling debt.
He was spared the death penalty but sentenced to 30 years at Bangkwang Prison, a sentence which caused uproar.
In 2007 his brother Lee launched an internet petition for a Royal Pardon and move him to England, and in November 2009 he was flown to London.
The petition is still in place and has now attracted almost 2,500 signatures.
His sister Clare, who lives in Wyberton, declined to comment to the Lincolnshire Free Press.
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Weather for Spalding
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
