TWO men who were held in a Hungarian jail on suspicion of fraud after their company collapsed, have been freed without explanation.

Jason McGoldrick, 37, from Devon, and Michael Turner, 27, from Dorset, had been held without charge since November 2 by the Hungarian authorities over claims they owed creditors £18,000.

However, on Friday they were released from prison in Budapest and turned out into the streets without any briefing or reason. The men are currently meeting lawyers and want to ensure all matters are cleared before they leave the country.

Mr McGoldrick's mother, Margaret Knight, from Derriford in Plymouth, last night said: "I do not know what is happening, except that they have been thrown out of prison.

"He has not even been told why he has been released. I do not know whether they are on bail, but they are not free to leave the country."

Mr Turner's family, who live at Corfe Castle, have campaigned for both men's release and set up a website called Free Mike and Jason. Mr Turner's father, Mark, said he was in Budapest himself on Friday – and there was no sign of their release.

He said: "There was no sign of imminent release then, but by the time I was back in the UK my phone was red hot. I spoke to Michael and he said someone just came in to his prison cell and he obviously assumed he was being moved somewhere.

"They opened the door and threw them out and said 'there you go', out in the rain on a Budapest street."

The Earl of Dartmouth, the South West Ukip MEP who has been campaigning for the pair's release, said the protests mounted by their supporters had been magnificent.

He said: "They were relentless in their pursuit of getting Michael and Jason out of prison. Their belief in them was unflagging and we can only hope they are home soon." Lord Dartmouth visited the pair in prison and took part in a delegation to the Hungarian ambassador.

The men's business – a timeshare company – collapsed in 2005. Hungarian prosecutors used European arrest warrants to detain the men, alleging the company's creditors were the victims of fraud. But Mr Turner and his family have always protested his innocence.

Mr Turner senior, a pub landlord, said: "These guys have never been charged with any crime, and been in prison. They're never done anything wrong with their lives."

Mr Turner senior said the men were "ecstatic" but "confused" to be freed. He said they had not been treated well during their time in prison. "I saw Michael on Thursday when I visited, you can see both of them have their clothes hanging off them, like they've been in a concentration camp," he said. "They're pale and malnourished."