West Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty-Hughes has hit out at the UK Home Office over its treatment of a West Dunbartonshire woman who faces being deported after 16 years of living in Scotland.

Chennan Fei, a 30 year old Chinese national who came to Scotland in 2002 at the age of 13 legally as a dependent of her parents, has been battling the Home Office over the past five years because they are trying to force her to leave the UK.

The charity worker's case will be heard at an immigration appeal hearing in Glasgow this week (Thursday, December 20).

It comes after Chennan, who lives in Renton with her fiancee Duncan Harkness, 27, won a reprieve in 2017 when a judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled that officials had not acted in accordance with the law.

SNP politician Martin Docherty-Hughes has given his backing to the campaign to halt Chennan’s deportation.

He believes his constituent has been treated appallingly by the Home Office, and says it's yet another example of the UK government’s ‘callous’ immigration policies.

Mr Docherty-Hughes said: “Scotland has been Chennan’s home for more than half her life.

"It’s where she has grown up, been educated at school and university, and it’s where she met and fell in love with her fiancé Duncan.

“After spending over 16 years building a life here in Scotland, the prospect of Chennan being torn away from her loved ones through no fault of her own has been deeply distressing.

“Chennan is clearly a bright and talented young woman who has a lot to offer Scotland, yet the UK Home Office has gone to considerable effort to force her from her home.

“It highlights once again the folly of the UK government’s hostile immigration policies which all too often lack compassion and common sense."

He added: “Chennan has been treated appallingly by the Home Office and has my full support in challenging this callous move to remove her from her home here in West Dunbartonshire.”

Over 60,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the UK Home Secretary to intervene to allow Chennan to remain in Scotland.

To sign the petition click here.