AT this time of year it is difficult for any of us to concentrate on much other than buying presents, organising family visits and filling our fridges with food.

But amid the hectic rush to get ready for Christmas spare a thought for the family of Nick Baker, who spent his 32nd birthday in solitary confinement and suffering frostbite in a Japanese prison.

He has been in prison since being found with Ecstasy and cocaine in a suitcase at Narita International Airport in April.

Despite protesting his innocence and claiming that he was duped into carrying the drugs by another passenger he has little prospect of proper justice.

For his mum Iris, who lives in Malmesbury, the nightmare of her son's incarceration just gets worse. The appalling treatment he is receiving has meant that he spend more than 23 hours a day alone in a tiny, dank cell.

His Christmas will be spent shivering on a cold concrete floor eating food we would not consider giving to our pets.

Spare a thought too for Clare Bowler who too is facing Christmas behind bars. Mrs Bowler, of Toothill, Swindon, was sentenced in June to five years in prison after she was found guilty of starting a fire that caused £25,000 worth of damage in her home.

Any chance of an appeal that may have freed her to spend Christmas with her children has gone because missing paperwork delayed the hearing.

Our own problems seem very trivial by comparison.