A FILM actress has finally met a former Nelson man who was jailed for 22 years amid claims that he worked as a Soviet spy during the Cold War.

Ex-Bond girl Fiona Fullerton and Anthony Alex Alexandrowicz lost touch in 1988 after more than a decade of writing letters to one another.

Alexandrowicz was convicted of aggravated burglary and grievous bodily harm and was said to have had links to Soviet spies – claims he always denied.

He struck up a penpal relationship with Fiona, who appeared in ‘A View To A Kill’, after writing to her from his prison cell in 1976.

With plans to include his letters in a book about his ordeal, Fiona contacted the Lancashire Telegraph in May in the hope that someone would know his where-abouts.

The pair have since met in person for the first time after someone who saw Fiona’s appeal in the paper got in touch.

Fiona said: “It was very emotional and like finally meeting an old friend. He is a real survivor, given what he has been through.

“I have since met him every week and he is slowly getting used to life again, having shut himself away for two years.

“We text each other and he is happy about the book. I am trying to enhance his life in small ways and he is now on the internet again.

“I feel very protective of him and want his story to be told – 22 years for something you didn't do is simply not right.”

Alexandrowicz, who was born to a Polish father and an English mother, grew up in Nelson with his sister.

In his book, ‘The Longest Injustice’, which he co-wrote with his former prison governor, Prof David Wilson, he says he was arrested after being photographed sharing lunch in a London park with Igor Laptev, a top Soviet spy who had offered to help him trace his relatives.

He was convicted after signing a burglary confession, something he later claimed he only did because police threatened to have his father deported.

On his release from prison in 1993, Alexandrowicz spent time in Milton Keynes, but then disappeared without trace – until now.

Last week he contacted the Lancashire Telegraph by email to express his thanks for helping Fiona to find him.

He said: “Many thanks for printing Fiona’s letter. I am happy to say that she found me through your help.”