Officials have refused to back down - and a new bride has been forced to book a one-way ticket to the Far East.

FELIXSTOWE: Officials have refused to back down - and a new bride has been forced to book a one-way ticket to the Far East.

Piyawadee Apisuk will leave Britain and jet back to her homeland of Thailand on February 3 and it could be months before she sees her husband Jeremy Langworthy again.

“We spoke to the immigration authorities again but they have not changed their mind and said Piyawadee must leave the country as soon as possible - otherwise they will deport her,” said Mr Langworthy, 50, of Kentford Road, Felixstowe.

“We have booked her flight and she is going to Bangkok.

“Once there she will make contact with the British Embassy and fill in the forms for a residency visa.

“It could be six months or even a year before she is allowed back.”

The couple - whose plight was highlighted by the Evening Star - were heartbroken after government officials granted them permission to marry, then turned down her application for permanent residency.

“People have been really supportive. Most cannot understand why we were allowed to marry if they had no intention of letting Piyawadee stay here in this country - we said on the forms we intended to live in Felixstowe,” said Mr Langworthy, who works for Family Amusements.

The couple met two years ago after Piyawadee, 30, who was studying English at a London college, came to Felixstowe for a short stay to work at the Marlborough Hotel.

The Border Agency said her application to remain in the UK was refused because it was made late, three months after her student visa had run out and when she had no right to be in the UK. Permission to marry did not entitle her to remain in the UK.

Should Piyawadee be allowed to stay? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk