A Bradford lorry driver freed from a Greek jail is facing an uncertain future, his family have revealed.

David Wilson, pictured, who was yesterday released on bail pending an appeal, must wait until November before he can clear his name.

And wife Tracey says that even if he is acquitted his business will be bankrupt and his livelihood in doubt.

Yesterday, however, the family werepopping the champagne corks as he prepared to head home.

And they declared: "This is better than winning the lottery!"

Tracey and their son, Daniel, celebrated at their 'Free Willy' campaign headquarters, at the Royal pub, Low Moor, after hearing that the 44-year-old had been granted bail yesterday pending an appeal against his conviction for smuggling illegal immigrants.

Mr Wilson was sentenced after 19 Iraqis were found in his lorry as he prepared to board a ferry for Italy.

And Mrs Wilson's joy at his freedom was tempered by the news that the nine weeks he has spent in jail means his business has gone into liquidation and he still has to fight his conviction.

The lorry, which has been impounded, must stay in Greece until the appeal hearing on November 4.

Mrs Wilson, married for 22 years, said: "What upsets me most about this is that someone so hard-working could have it all taken away from him."

She said it had taken her husband four years to build up the business and was insistent he had no knowledge of the refugees in his lorry.

"When he is acquitted he will be bankrupt," she said.

Mr Wilson, of Wyke, was yesterday granted bail by a judge in court in the port of Patras with bail fixed at £1,228 - far lower than the £22,000 expected.

Friends had raised the amount with a series of fund-raising efforts at the pub and now it will go towards his ongoing legal fees.

After the hearing yesterday, Mr Wilson returned to jail until all the paperwork is sorted for his return home which could take a few days.

He was jailed in March after the Iraqi refugees were found in the back of his lorry under a cargo of wool as he was boarding a ferry to Italy.

They even told the court that he did not know they were in his lorry, but he was jailed all the same after a local lawyer, who spoke no English, was appointed to represent him and he was fast-tracked through the legal system.

Mr Wilson is guaranteed a warm welocme when he returns. Pub licensee and 'Free Willy' co-ordinator Julie Butterfield promised: "There's a pint of bitter just ready and waiting."

Mrs Wilson spoke to her husband by telephone immediately after yesterday's decision.

"He has no idea of the support he has been getting over here," she said. "He has been brave throughout. What he has gone through has been horrendous.

"David has always maintained he is 100 per cent innocent and he has got through it by knowing at some point justice will be done."

She said he had already pledged to take life "a little slower" after his ordeal.

"Before, if he couldn't be driving his wagon, he was cleaning it," she said. "But he's said: 'Not any more. No more overtime. I shall spend more time at home'."

She believes he was misled by the lawyer who handled his case in Greece and said the "fast-track" system, where people allegedly caught red-handed are dealt with swiftly by the courts, should be changed.

Mr Wilson's mother Nancy said her son had sounded much better on the phone after getting the news.

"He sounded completely changed," she said. "There is no way he would have risked that wagon and done that. I have complete trust in him."