Myrtle Cothill: Woman who won deportation fight dies at home aged 99

Myrtle Cothill was cared for by her daughter Mary Wills in Dorset

An elderly woman whose fight against deportation prompted a swell of public support has died peacefully at her home aged 99, her lawyer has said.

Myrtle Cothill, who lived in Poole in Dorset, was ordered to fly back to her native South Africa in 2016.

After more than 262,000 people signed a petition, the government granted her leave to remain due to "compassionate and exceptional circumstances".

Her daughter Mary Wills, who cared for her, said she was "heartbroken".

She said her mother was a "legend of strength" with a strong belief in her faith and "a beautiful smile that captured everybody's heart".

In 2016 Myrtle Cothill and her daughter visited Downing Street as her campaign featured in national headlines

Mrs Cothill had heart problems, was losing her eyesight and could not walk unaided when she moved to the UK in 2014 on a tourist visa.

She sold her house in South Africa, so she could live with her daughter in Poole, but did not apply for UK residency.

Ms Wills said at the time her mother could not live on her own.

Her barrister, Jan Doerfel, launched a petition calling on the government to allow the then 92-year-old to remain permanently in the UK.

'An inspiration'

Mr Doerfel told the BBC it was the "immense public outcry" against her deportation to South Africa "where she had no-one to look after her" that enabled her to stay.

He said he took "consolation" from the fact "Mary and Myrtle were never alone".

The lawyer added: "Myrtle has been an inspiration and has become a well-known face of the effects of the hostile environment which so often are faced by individuals on their own, away from the public gaze."

Her immigration lawyer, James Davies, said Mrs Cothill "would undoubtedly not have lived this long if she had had to return to South Africa where she had no family to care for her".