A family man separated from his wife and child by immigration authorities has spoken of his joy at being reunited with them.

Asylum seeker Mohammed Samad, 23, from Blackthorns, Hurstpierpoint, was detained nearly two weeks ago without warning during a regular visit to check in with immigration officials in Croydon.

He was held at the Colnbrook detention centre near Heathrow and believed he would be sent back to civil war stricken Sri Lanka. He fled the country after being badly beaten by Tamil Tiger rebels in 1999.

Ten days later immigration officials did a dramatic U-turn and decided that Mr Samad could stay in the country on Thursday.

After spending the first night with his wife Sarah and two-year-old Oscar, an emotional Mr Samad said: "I am over the moon. There are no words that can describe how I feel.

"It was mentally tough to be separated from my wife and son. I kept a positive attitude and just kept thinking something good would happen - and it did.

"I was shocked when they told me at first I was staying. They had already booked a flight for me last Saturday but they had cancelled it. I wasn't sure what was happening even on the day."

Wife Sarah, 21, said: "It has been very, very surreal. It feels like the past nine or ten days haven't happened. We've gone pretty much straight back to being as normal as we can.

"Mohammed called me on the morning and told me he had been told to pack his stuff but he didn't know what was going on."

After several frantic phone calls to the authorities Sarah had the news she had been waiting for.

She went on: "I was in absolute shock but it was brilliant.

"I haven't coped this last few days and I just want to thank my mum who was around me and my friends and family and everybody for their support."

The most overjoyed person to see him back home was his son Oscar. Mr Samad said: "He is a very happy chappy."

The family now want to concentrate on returning to a normal life.

Mr Samad's lawyer, Parvez Motiwala, said: "I can't believe this has happened. We fought for this and it is brilliant news as there were exceptional circumstances in this case. We are over the moon."

He added the Home Office had decided to give Mr Samad "leave to stay" in the country after representations from lawyers. There is no set period of time but Mr Motiwala believes it could probably be at least a year before immigration officials take another look at the case.

Mr Samad has held down a long-term job as a groundsman at Hurstpierpoint College and now plans to return to work to "get back to normal".

Supporters of Mr Samad have described him as a "model immigrant".

A Home Office spokeswoman told The Argus it did not comment on individual cases.