A FATHER has said he fears for the lives of his family as they face deportation from the UK.

Ismail Cherbal has been living in Blackburn for the past five years but is currently at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in Bedfordshire after having asylum applications refused.

At the weekend the family were due to be flown back to Algeria but Ismail and his wife Safia Aouf made last minute protests while on the plane and were unloaded.

It is not known when another attempt to deport them will be made.

Campaigners, including supporters in Blackburn, fighting their cause claim they are being “forcibly removed” from the UK, and have raised fears about Safia’s health. The 29-year-old is pregnant with their third child.

They have claimed the family should not be deported on humanitarian grounds because they have spent so long in Britain making new lives for themselves. The couple’s two children, Sonia aged four and 15-month-old Aya, were both born in Blackburn.

The family, who had been living in Bunker’s Hill Close, left Algeria after Ismail refused to re-enlist in the army when his brother was killed.

They have been held at Yarl’s Wood for the past 44 days.

Speaking from the detention centre, Ismail, 33, said: “The day they took us away in handcuffs was the worst day of my life.

“After all these years away from Algeria I know they are looking for me.

“I will definitely be arrested and if I am arrested I will worry for my wife, who is suffering from depression, and my children.

“I have tried to provide my children with a good life, and they have been brought up speaking English. I don’t feel safe over there – I know something will happen. I fear my family could be killed if we are sent back.”

Ismail said the family were going to be deported on Saturday and had even boarded a flight at Heathrow before being reprieved.

John East, the asylum support co-ordinator for community help group Blackburn with Darwen Churches Together, claimed families such as the Cherbal’s were “easy targets” for the Home Office when it came to deportation.

He said: “I am aware of this and if his lawyer wants help he can speak to us and we can see what we can do.

“The problem is that he has gone through the legal process but it begs the question ‘why have they not been dealt with quicker?’ “How can you treat people like this when there is such a time lapse between them coming here and this going ahead?

“I would argue that on humanitarian grounds they have a case not to be deported.

“Their children could be taken to a country they don’t even recognise.”

Ian Pollock, who works supporting asylum seekers said: “The family have been in Blackburn for over five years and the Government has the discretion to allow them to stay.

“The authorities should take a more sympathetic approach to people who have been in this country for such a long period of time.”

A UK Border Agency Spokesperson said: “We consider every asylum application individually and with enormous care.

“Families with children are detained when they have no right to be here and have refused to leave so we need to enforce removal.

“Their cases will have been considered by the independent courts and they will have been given a number of opportunities to leave before that point. We would rather they leave voluntarily and removal action is always the last resort.

“We always aim to keep detention to the minimum period possible and do so with care and compassion and have dedicated facilities for children such as a crèche, independent social workers and play and educational facilities.

“Based on provisional data, last year the average length of stay was 15 days.

“The vast majority were there for under 15 days and, of those, nearly half left detention within a week.”