Brit woman left to rot in 'hell on Earth' Thai jail with four-year-old son goes on hunger strike
A mum who has been 'left to rot' in a Thai jail with her four-year-old son has begun a hunger strike in protest of the conditions she is facing.
Ellis Matthews, 32, is currently being held in Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok with her four-year-old son Cairo.
Thailand is well-known for handing out harsh prison sentences to those who overstay their welcome in the country and Ms Matthews is the latest Brit to find herself victim of the rules.
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We've even seen the Asian country hand out death sentences to visitors over the years, particularly over drug-related crimes, but some have managed to escape from the horrible conditions they are subject to.
Ms Matthews has found fame as a Tik Tok star who has amassed thousands of followers thanks to her somewhat controversial content where she brags of how her lifestyle in Thailand is funding by British taxpayers.
But on 3 March, the Lancashire mum was arrested by Thai immigration officials at her home in Pattaya after overstaying her visa which was cancelled on 21 February.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, she described how conditions have worsened for her during her time incarcerated.
She said: "This is hell on earth, it's the worst prison that you can imagine. I'm locked up in a cell for most of the day with 16 other people and none of them speak English.
"It's so hot and overcrowded that you can barely breathe. My skin is covered in rashes, both me and my son have got lice, terrible insect bites and there's rats running around.
"We haven't even got any access to medication. Nobody is helping me, and I've just been left here to rot."
Ms Matthews has been told that once she buys herself a ticket back to the UK, she will be freed and deported safely, but the mum is fearful that her young son could be taken away by social services on her return to her home country.
And with no solution in sight, the 32-year-old is now refusing food in the hope that her conditions can change for the better.
She added: "I'm refusing to eat until I'm treated property and conditions here improve.
"I've not had any food for the past 48 hours and almost fainted on Sunday. But the guards don't care, they have been shouting abuse at me and one of them even pushed me. My basic human rights are being denied and my hunger strike will continue until that changes."
Given that she's supposedly been fed 'rat meat' and rice that 'makes you want to vomit' in the prison, it's perhaps no surprise that she's gone off her food.
James Moorhouse