A woman from Birmingham has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pakistan court for attempting to smuggle 63kg of heroin out of the country.

Khadija Shah was arrested at Islamabad airport in May 2012 when the drugs were found in her luggage.

She was sentenced at a court in Pakistan on Tuesday, according to legal charity Reprieve.

The 26-year-old, who was pregnant at the time of her arrest with her third child, has always denied the charges against her.

Shah, who gave birth to her daughter Malaika while in custody, said she had no idea what was inside the luggage.

Her other children, a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old daughter, have been returned to Britain while Malaika has remained behind bars with her mother.

Reprieve has called on the British Government to help Khadija to appeal her sentence.

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's Death Penalty team, said "This is a terrible outcome for Khadija and her baby Malaika.

"As happens in hundreds of cases, she was used as a drugs mule without her knowledge, and yet is facing life in a Pakistani prison.

"The UK government must ensure that Khadija gets the urgent assistance she needs to appeal her sentence so that her baby doesn't grow up behind bars."