Roman Polanski is granted bail by a Swiss court

Roman Polanski went to Switzerland to receive a lifetime achievement award

A Swiss court has accepted film-maker Roman Polanski's plea to be freed on bail from a Swiss jail where he is being held for a US child sex case.

Polanski has been wanted in the US since fleeing the country in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex a year earlier with a 13-year-old girl.

He was held in Zurich after travelling from France to collect an award at the city's film festival in September.

The Swiss Justice Ministry said it would decide quickly whether to appeal.

It is thought Polanski will remain in jail until a decision is made whether to challenge Wednesday's ruling.

House arrest

Bail has reportedly been set at 3m euros (£2.7m; $4.5m) for the film director.

While on bail, Polanski would have to be kept under house arrest and electronic monitoring at his Swiss chalet, according to Associated Press news agency.

The ruling is not thought to affect the Swiss government's ongoing assessment of whether it should extradite Polanski to the US.