A Kurdish family who face being uprooted and moved across the country have a last-chance hearing with the Home Office this month.

The couple have lived in Haywards Heath, where their two young children were born, for four years.

Last month they were told they had to move to Leicester by December 20 because their benefits had been stopped after they were denied asylum.

With no income support or rent, and banned from working, the family, who do not wish to be named for fear of repercussions, faced destitution if they stayed.

They were placed under the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), which provides subsistence but disperses families out of the South East where demand for housing is greater.

They were given a week to pack up their belongings and leave friends and family.

The couple, who desperately want to stay within the Kurdish community in Haywards Heath, have a Home Office hearing on January 17.

Thanks to the help of local people, the couple have been able to stay in town until the hearing.

When Councillor Irene Balls, the Mayor of Haywards Heath, heard about their plight she asked residents to help.

The Reverend Tim Stead of the Church of the Ascension stepped in and offered to personally underwrite three months' rent to Downlands Housing Association, based on the generosity of his congregation.

A friend of the family said: "It has been very stressful. They don't know what the future holds. They just want to stay where they feel they have made a home.

"We are just waiting to hear what is decided at the hearing."

Coun Balls said: "I couldn't believe it when I heard they only had a week to move. They don't know a soul in Leicester - they were just given train tickets and told to go."

The couple fled Turkey four years ago due to the conflict between the Turks and the Kurds.