HANOI: The trial of a pregnant British woman charged with drug trafficking was due to start Wednesday in Laos, a British embassy spokesman said, ending weeks of waiting and false starts.

The case of Samantha Orobator, 20, was expected to begin at 0630 GMT. A British legal charity brought her case to light early in May, saying at the time that her trial could be imminent and fearing she would be executed.

"The Lao authorities informed us yesterday that the trial will be going ahead," said the spokesman, who is in the Lao capital Vientiane with three other consular officials who flew there from Bangkok.

Orobator was detained in August after allegedly being caught with 680 grams (1.5 pounds) of heroin while trying to board a plane to Thailand.

Normally, anyone found in Laos with more than 500 grams of heroin faces the death penalty.

But Lao Deputy Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith assured British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell during a meeting in London last month that a pregnant woman would not receive the death sentence, Rammell has said.

He added that if Orobator is convicted she could serve her sentence in Britain under a newly-signed prisoner transfer agreement.