Death row British grandmother plays with granddaughter for 'first and final' time

Lindsay Sandiford, 59, says after playing with two-year-old Ayla that she is 'just grateful I've met her'

File image: Lindsay Sandiford could be executed within weeks (AFP/Getty Images)

A British grandmother who faces death by firing squad in Indonesia has met her granddaughter for the first time.

Lindsay Sandiford, 59, was informed she was among a group of 10 convicted drug smugglers scheduled for execution on the 21 September, prompting a desperate attempt to reach out to her family for the last time.

Officials in Indonesia later informed Ms Sandiford’s legal team that all executions would be suspended until at least the end of this year.

But that plans were already in motion for two-year-old Ayla, who was born seven months after Ms Sandiford’s arrest in Bali in May 2012, to fly out and meet her grandmother for the first time.

The pair met a number of times over the last week, according to the Mail on Sunday, along with Ayla’s parents. They were pictured sat on the floor, playing with a Barbie toy set.

Ms Sandiford’s stay of execution means she now has at least three months to try and raise the £25,000 she needs to fund a final appeal against her death penalty.

She told the Mail the delay represented “just more torture”. “I’m just grateful I’ve met Ayla,” she said. “It’s hard to come to terms with the fact I might not see her again and she might not remember me, but I’m so glad I got to spend time with her.”

David Cameron raised the case when he made a state visit to Indonesia in late July, and said he hoped to “help the family concerned”. The British government has nonetheless said it will not help fund any of Ms Sandiford’s legal costs.

Dee Stepo, a British pastor who lives in Australia and runs a Facebook page raising funds for Ms Sandiford’s cause, oversaw a blessing ceremony for the family in Bali.

She wrote on Facebook on Sunday: “Please note no dates have been set for executions. We will always believe for justice and a miracle.”