A Kent pensioner who was facing two years in a Ugandan prison over gay pictures is to be deported back to Britain within hours.

Bernard Randall pleaded not guilty in November to charges of "trafficking obscene images" after police were given photos of him having sex with another man.

The 65-year-old, from Conyer, was today in court in Entebbe where all the charges were dropped.

The AFP news agency reported Judge Hellen Ajio ruled Mr Randall should be deported from Uganda within 12 hours.

Thieves broke into the house where Mr Randall was staying while on holiday and stole a laptop with the images, which were later given to a tabloid newspaper and then to police.

Homosexuality is illegal in the African state and on December 20 last year, Ugandan parliament passed a bill to toughen the punishment for homosexual acts to include life imprisonment in some cases.

Broadcaster Stephen Fry and others have pledged their support for Mr Randall and a Facebook page has attracted more than 800 supporters.