A family is celebrating winning a battle to stay in Bradford after fleeing persecution in Hungary.

Peter Balogh, 44, his wife Andrea, 28, and nine-year-old son Peter junior applied to be allowed to stay after being ordered to leave the country.

And special adjudicator Kenneth Robb has ruled they are genuine asylum seekers after hearing how they were beaten up by police in their homeland for being gipsies.

Mr Balogh, of West Bowling, said: "Now I can breathe more freely, think more freely and look to a future which is secure for us all.

"My son desperately needs stability after he has seen and gone through."

He said if they had been forced to return, the couple would have divorced so their son would not inherit the surname Balogh - which is a gipsy name.

The family claimed because Mr Balogh was of gipsy origins they suffered abuse which is rife in Hungary against gipsies.

Hungary is preparing to join the EU and has vowed to try to stop the persecution but the family argued it would not be achieved in time for them.

Mr Balogh says he now aims to get voluntary work in a hospital in a bid to resume his career as a nurse.

He said: "This is a whole new beginning for us all. I want to forget my past 40 years and start all over again.

"I know asylum seekers are in the news for the wrong reasons but if you are a genuine case like us, then Britain offers a life we could never have dreamed of.

"Yes, I am poor but I can walk down the street without people abusing me for being a gipsy and we need not fear the police."

He also thanked all the refugee and health experts and legal team in Bradford which helped him.

In his judgement, after a hearing in Leeds earlier this month, Mr Robb ruled that forcing them back would be a breach of human rights.

He said: "I find that the ill treatment feared by the appellant is of sufficient severity as to cross the threshhold of persecution. Additionally there is not a sufficiency of protection from the state."

Their solicitor Azeem Malik, of Malik Partnerships solicitors, said: "Justice has prevailed. These people have suffered a lot of discrimination and the right decision has come to light.

"It is an excellent result for them and their child."