A heartbroken couple have gone to the top in a bid to bring the four-year-old boy they want to adopt to Britain.

Childless Abdul Hamid and his wife Rukhsana, are desperate to bring their little nephew to Bradford from a remote Pakistan village to make their family complete.

But an application for a visa for little Shakil Ahmed has been rejected because immigration officers say there is no "compelling reason" for him to come to Britain.

Now Bradford West Labour MP Marsha Singh is seeking urgent talks with Home Office Minister Barbara Roche, and the couple will appeal against the decision.

The bitter blow follows a three- year battle to adopt the youngster in Britain by the couple who live in Girlington.

They say they are unable to conceive in spite of tests and hospital treatment for infertility.

Mr Hamid, 34, a factory worker, has lived in Britain since he was five and his wife came to the country for their marriage in 1985. Mrs Bibi, 36, is a sewing machinist. They say they were overjoyed when Rukhsana's sister Zana agreed they could adopt the youngest of her four children.

Mr Hamid said they saw the six-month-old baby when they went for a holiday with Zara and her husband in the village which is their home in Pakistan.

He added: "We talked about being unable to have children and how we could give Shakil a good life in Britain."

He said Rukhsana had obtained leave from her job and gone to Pakistan to look after the infant for a year in Rawalpundi. The couple adopted Shakil through the system used in Pakistan, which is not recognised in Britain.

Now Mrs Bibi has had to return without the child and been forced to hand him back to her sister. She said: "He had been living with me for so long and was holding his arms out to me and crying. I had to give him a little car which I had bought him to play with so that I could get away."

Mr Hamid said: "We could not believe we would have to leave him. We have a house and jobs and everything is here for him to have a better life. His village is dusty and overcrowded and the children have to go a long way to school. The houses have no bathrooms. We are sending money for him and can talk to him on the phone but he just wants to see Rukhsana."

Mr Singh has written to Mrs Roche: "I am appealing to you as their MP to put an end to their emotional anguish and misery by using your powers to grant the child exceptional leave to enter the country on compassionate grounds."

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