A father who faces being torn away from his Sussex family will get a chance to overturn the decision to deport him.
Australian Phil Sommerville, 46, was told he will be sent back to Australia despite his British wife of 12 years and their three children living in Bolney Village, near Haywards Heath.
Worried His three children, who are begging the Home Office not to deport their father, will now find out his fate on August 16 at a tribunal hearing in London.
His worried wife Isabel told The Argus: “We are not that filled with hope.
“I feel so disheartened with this country at the moment that we have to go through this.
“There has been an awful lot of damage done to our family unit. I feel so sorry for the children.
“It is a nightmare. I just thought that once they realised their mistakes common sense would prevail and someone would fix them.
“I’m normally such a positive person but it’s just so hard.”
The family’s nightmare started after the Home Office said it sent the family a letter in March asking for more information about Phil’s relationship and home life.
But the family says it never received the correspondence.
The first they claim they knewof it was when Phil was threatened with deportation in April.
The Argus is backing the Sommerville's fight to be kept together.
Don't Deport Daddy will support the family in their battle to keep Phil in the UK.
The Argus believes it is cruel and quite plainly wrong to split up a loving father from his wife and children.
We are calling on common sense to prevail and for the Home Office to reassess the family's situation.
We are backing the calls of Cooper, 12, Jasmin, 8, and Charlee, 6: “Don't Deport Daddy.”
Email us with your messages of support at news@theargus.co.uk.
See the latest news headlines from The Argus:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel