The family of a British grandfather who was threatened with flogging for breaking Saudi Arabia's strict anti-alcohol laws have said they are "absolutely thrilled" that he is set to be released.

Karl Andree, 74, has been locked up since his arrest in Jeddah in August last year when he was caught with home-made wine.

During a visit to Saudi Arabia, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that the grandfather-of-seven would be released within a week and reunited with his family.

Following the announcement, Mr Andree's son, Simon Andree, said: "It is great news if what the Saudis and the Government is saying is true. I'm absolutely thrilled.

"Hopefully we'll have him home next week."

Mr Andree said he watched Mr Hammond's statement on television and he had not been told of his father's release beforehand.

"The Foreign Office called me this morning and told me Philip Hammond was in Saudi but they didn't tell me anything else," he added.

"I've been watching the TV all day waiting for the news."

Mr Hammond said it was because of the "strength, depth and breadth" of relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia that they were able to "achieve effective results".

He said: "This is a good outcome and I'm grateful to minister Al-Jubeir and all other people who have been involved, especially His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, for ensuring that we now have a good outcome to this case which has caused such concern in Britain."

Some reports suggested Saudi officials never intended for Mr Andree to be flogged, due to his age and health, but his family questioned the delay in his release from prison.

Mr Andree's family urged his release on compassionate grounds because his wife Verity is dying of Alzheimer's and is in Britain receiving care.

He has lived in the Middle East for the last 25 years, having worked in the oil industry.

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter: "Good to hear news from #Saudi that #KarlAndree is to be released within the week."

Downing Street had previously said Mr Cameron was personally intervening in the "extremely concerning" case.

More than 230,000 people signed an online petition calling for the Prime Minister to intervene to stop Mr Andree - who has battled cancer and suffers from asthma - from facing the lashings.

Three of his grandchildren, Lucy, 12, Celia, 10 and Edward, nine, also appealed to Mr Cameron in a video message, in which they said their grandfather was a "really old man" and "no human deserves to be treated like this".

The Foreign Secretary is holding a series of talks with the country's ruler, King Salman, and other members of the royal family and officials during his visit to the Gulf state.

The trip comes just days after Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UK warned of "potentially serious repercussions" of a breakdown in relations with Britain and a lack of "mutual respect".

Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz singled out the cancellation of a deal to train prison staff in the Gulf state as he railed against an "alarming change in the way Saudi Arabia is discussed in Britain".

But Mr Hammond said his four-nation tour of the Gulf would allow him to talk to "key partners" about "security issues" ahead of a major conference on Saturday.

As well as Mr Andree's case, the links between London and Riyadh have been strained by the cancellation of a bid for a Saudi prison consultancy contract.

As part of the tour, Mr Hammond will meet the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to discuss regional security and the crisis in Syria, ahead of international talks in Vienna on Friday.

At the weekend, he will give a speech on extremism - which he described as "the great challenge of our time" - at a summit in Bahrain hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The Foreign Office said he will make clear that the UK's national security is heavily linked to that of the region, highlighting continued commitment to a military presence in the Gulf.

Human rights groups said Mr Hammond should use the visit to press for action on a range of cases, including Ali al-Nimr, who faces crucifixion and beheading, and the blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and a lengthy jail term.

Downing Street said that Mr Hammond had been informed of Mr Andree's impending release after raising the case in his talks with the Saudis.

"This is a case we have raised. The Prime Minister wrote recently. The Foreign Secretary is there at the moment, he raised the case and he was informed of Mr Andree's imminent release," a No 10 spokesman said.