CAMPAIGNERS for a Bury couple fighting to stay in the UK have launched a fundraising appeal for a judicial review of their case.

Lydia Besong and Bernard Batey have been trying to claim asylum since fleeing Cameroon in 2006, where they say they were beaten, tortured and imprisoned.

But earlier this month they were refused leave to appeal to the High Court for the right to stay in the UK. Their claim for asylum was refused by the Home Office earlier this year and their appeal was turned down by the asylum and immigration tribunal.

The couple, of Kestrel Drive, are continuing their fight and hope to win a judicial review.

They are also urging people to write to the Home Secretary, Teresa May, asking for the couple to be given leave to remain in the UK.

A spokesman for the Lydia and Bernard Must Stay Campaign said: “This is a clear human rights issue. Lydia and Bernard have been persecuted, imprisoned and tortured in Cameroon for their membership of the Southern Cameroon National Council, a peaceful political party.

“Only last month, Amnesty International published a report saying that members of the SCNC still face arrest and imprisonment. Lydia is well known as both as a political activist and as a playwright. Their lives would be in grave danger if they were to be returned to Cameroon.”

Mr Batey and Mrs Besong, who taught English in Cameroon, lived in Rochdale for three years, until Mrs Besong was held in detention for four weeks in 2009 and the couple were threatened with deportation.

The flight was halted by a High Court judge and the UK Border Agency said their case would be reviewed.

The couple then settled in Bury and Mrs Besong wrote a play about her experiences, named How I Became An Asylum Seeker, which has been performed in Manchester, Salford, Liverpool and London.

They have support in both Bury and Rochdale, as well as in Manchester where they have worked as volunteers for human rights organisations.