CRICKET coach Hartley Alleyne wakes every morning thinking it could be his last day in the country he considers his home.

The 50-year-old former West Indies and Kent player is reeling from the decision of the Immigration Service to refuse his appeal for a work permit.

Now he fears government officers could arrive any day to deport him.

He is now clinging to hope that Canterbury MP Julian Brazier’s personal appeal to the Immigration Minister will be successful.

The decision to refuse him a work permit came despite the fact that Mr Alleyne has spent the best part of 29 years in the UK playing and coaching cricket.

He even gained an NVQ in sports coaching through the Professional Cricketers Association to appease the authorities – to no avail.

Mr Alleyne said: "I have been in England for nearly 30 years and consider it my home. I also have two children who are British. To have to go back to Barbados would be devastating.

"I lie awake at night and hear footsteps in the corridor and think 'this is it, they’ve come for me'."

Mr Brazier is being supported in his campaign by Faversham MP, Hugh Robertson and Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP, Derek Wyatt.

* See Thursday's Kentish Gazette for the full story.