I'm innocent; EXCLUSIVE: FIRST PICTURE OF BRIT GIRL LOCKED UP IN

GONE is the glamorous, carefree pose of the air stewardess proudly dressed in her Emirates Airline uniform.

Instead Katherine Jenkins is forced to wear a traditional Arab abaya, head-to-toe in black, and make-up is banned.

Home used to be a luxury flat - now she is locked away a swelteringly hot tiny cell in the Al Mamoorah jail in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

The fall of Katherine, 30, from Neath, South Wales, is revealed today with the first picture of her taken inside the prison where she has been held for six months.

Yesterday the Sunday Mirror was given exclusive access to Katherine as she awaits trial for her alleged role in a drugs ring.

Last week another British girl said to be a member of the ring was jailed for life. Anna Bartlett, 22, of Southend, Essex, who admitted importing drugs, is now serving her sentence in Al Mamoorah.

But Katherine insisted she is innocent. Katherine was the only member of the alleged ring to test negative for drugs. She has always maintained cocaine found in her bedroom belonged to her flatmate. She said: "I am not guilty. I hope that the court will see that I am innocent. I am doing OK. I have lived in Dubai for six years and I do know what they expect of me.

"I have the support of other British girls here and my family back home. I speak to my mother regularly and she is right behind me.

"I would love to talk to you, but I can't go into any details because of the court case. I am sorry I cannot be any more helpful. I know people at home will understand." Our meeting took place in the cool prison office. It was 8am and the temperature was 100oF outside. But for Katherine it came as a welcome respite from the four metre square cell she shares with two other prisoners.

A female guard and the prison's deputy governor sit in on our talk, ensuring that Katherine was discreet and respectful.

It is all a world removed from the jet-setting life she enjoyed 100 miles away in Dubai, where she regularly partied with the "Brit- pack" in lively hotel bars where Western drink and music are tolerated. Now her diet consists of three basic daily meals - boiled seeds, a local dish called abas and rice and meat biryanis.

The jail has 150 women and 1,000 male inmates. It is surrounded by walls topped with razor wire and guarded by armed police patrols.

Katherine is allowed to use the phone, and can chat with her mum Alvine, 52, in Neath, Scotland.

The case against her is that when police searched her flat they found 56 grams of cocaine there. Katherine has always insisted that it belonged to someone else.

The other three alleged members of the smuggling ring are Briton Stacy Simpson, 28, his East European girlfriend Anna Kidd, 32, and Briton Daniel Maalouf, 28. The next step for Katherine is a trial in Dubai. If found guilty she faces a tough jail term of up to 10 years, to be served in Al Mamoorah.

Yesterday she put on a brave face and said: "It is OK here. The conditions are fine and they are taking care of me.

"I have to make the most of it. But it is a prison and not very nice."

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