A man suspected of being a fake dad by immigration officials has vowed to take a DNA test to prove that a teenager he says is his son should be allowed to join him in Bradford.

Care worker Ade Ayo, who lives in Chain Street, in the city centre, blames bungling visa officers in Lagos, Nigeria, for hampering his son’s chance of joining him in the UK.

He said he paid £1,000 and sent all the correct paperwork – including family photographs, a birth certificate, bank statements, proof of work and evidence that he has a three-bedroom flat with a room waiting for 17-year-old Damy.

Mr Ayo, who is 44 and is now a British citizen after leaving Nigeria ten years ago, said the decision to refuse his son a settlement visa had been devastating.

“It’s been a shambles on the visa section’s part. They mixed up documents and facts. They got his age wrong, said working tax credits are public funds which they’re not, said my flat wasn’t big enough and they only used two of the eight photos of us because of the paper they were printed on.

“The reasons for refusal also kept referring to me as the sole surviving parent, I never said I was. I’ve told them his mother, who I wasn’t married to, lives elsewhere in Nigeria and has another family now. To say I’m not his real dad is ridiculous. I’ll take a DNA to prove it.”

Mr Ayo, who lives with his wife and four-year-old son, said Damy has been living with his grandmother until finishing school in Nigeria.

A letter from the UK Border Agency said the teenager had failed at interview in Lagos to satisfy officials that Mr Ayo was his only parent and that Mr Ayo, in turn, had failed to show financial and emotional support. It also declared that because birth certificates are easily obtained in Nigeria officials were not satisfied Damy was related to Mr Ayo.

Mr Ayo has now contacted his MP, Gerry Sutcliffe, for help and is seeking legal advice after the UK Border Agency told him he would have to reapply and pay another £1,000.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “We urge all applicants to provide the correct evidence when making their application.”