HOME at last! Asylum seeker Mohammed Arrian was surrounded by his delighted family after arriving home to Sheffield with the news he can stay.
Mohammed returned to his adopted city a free man, legally entitled to stay in Britain indefinitely, following his last-minute release from a deportation centre in Dover.
Today the 34-year-old - who had been due to be deported tomorrow - told The Sta
r: "When I was told I could stay I was so relieved. It was the best news I had ever heard, the biggest relief of my life.
"I know finally I can stay - there is no stress any more, no prospect of being sent back."
Mohammed, who is originally from Afghanistan, had his asylum application turned down - even though his mum, sister, and three brothers were granted permission to stay in Sheffield.
More than 1,000 campaigners signed a petition against his deportation, and Mohammed won the support of Sheffield Central MP Richard Caborn.
Today, reliving the moment he received the news he had been dreaming of, Mohammed said: "I was in the detention centre and I received a phone call from my brother.
"I was very shocked but so excited, really over the moon.
"But none of the officers in the detention centre knew anything about it, so I went along to my computer typing course as normal and just waited!
"Eventually they returned my things and put me in a taxi with a ticket for the coach, and I made my way back to Sheffield."
Mohammed left Afghanistan 12 years ago following the murder of his father, and fled over the border into Iran.
He came to Sheffield, where he lives on Manor Oaks Court, Manor Park, three years ago.
He has studied at Sheffield College, learned English, passed his Maths GCSE, joined a chess club, and volunteers two days a week at the city centre Sheffield Conversation Club where he helps other refugees and asylum seekers improve their spoken English.
Mohammed, who speaks four languages as well as English, now hopes to return to his studies or find work helping other asylum seekers.
He said: "I want to thank all the people who campaigned for me - they really had a very hard job and it is a big relief for my family as well as for me that I am allowed to stay."
n Mohammed's journey to freedom - see tomorrow's Star.
