Bristol man fights deportation to country he 'barely knows'

Anthonell Peccoo, who lives in Bristol, faces being returned to Jamaica after being convicted for grievous bodily harm (GBH) and drug offences

A 26-year-old man who has lived in the UK for decades is fighting deportation to a country he left when he was two.

Anthonell Peccoo, who lives in Bristol, faces being returned to Jamaica after being convicted for grievous bodily harm (GBH) and drug offences.

He said he has served his sentence but faces being punished again by being left in a country he "barely knows".

The Home Office said it makes "no apology for seeking to remove dangerous criminals who violate our laws".

Mr Peccoo, who was born in Jamaica, grew up in Bristol but never got a British passport.

Five years ago, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and is now facing deportation.

Trained as a hairdresser, Mr Peccoo said it had been hard living with deportation hanging over his head for years

He said: "I did do a serious crime but I've served my sentence and I'm still being punished.

"It's not even that I barely know it [Jamaica] - I know where it's located on the map but I have no connections in Jamaica and it will be crazy to send me back to a country where I have no family."

Trained as a hairdresser, he said it had been hard living with deportation hanging over his head for years.

"After leaving prison, I was given my second chance working in Happytat [a community enterprise in Stokes Croft]," he said.

"But I was volunteering because I can't work. I just want to start my life."

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees is among those who have written references backing him

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees is among those who have written references backing him.

"It just strikes me as pretty cruel," he said.

"There's an incidence that's out of character and you can see that in the records as well as all the positive contributions he's been making to the city before that and after it."

By law the home secretary is required to deport any foreign national who has received a prison sentence in the UK of more than a year, unless a specified exception applies.

The Home Office said it does not routinely comment on individual cases but its "priority is to protect the British public".

"We make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous criminals who violate our laws and abuse our hospitality."