Myrtle Cothill: 92-year-old widow to be deported to South Africa

Her application was rejected and she was told she must fly back to South Africa on Tuesday

Myrtle Cothill with her daughter Mary Wills (Change.org)

A 92-year-old woman has been ordered to leave the UK and return to South Africa after losing a battle to stop her from being deported.

Myrtle Cothill, who has heart problems, is losing her eyesight and cannot walk unaided, has been relying on the care of her 66-year-old daughter Mary Wills, who is a British citizen.

She has lived at her daughter's home in Poole, Dorset, since February 2014 and applied to the Home Office for leave to remain in the country on human rights grounds.

Her application was rejected and she was told she must fly back to South Africa on Tuesday - despite having no close family in the country.

Her daughter told The Guardian: “If she doesn’t go to the airport on Tuesday, they will probably come here and remove her and take her to detention centre. That will be signing her death certificate."

The Home Office said in December her application was rejected because her "condition was not deemed to be life-threatening" and "suitable medical treatment" was available in her country of origin.

More than 55,000 people have signed a petition calling for the pensioner to be allowed to stay in the UK.

In a statement on the petition, her daughter Mary Wills wrote: "My mother just cannot live on her own, and emotionally, to her as well as for myself, it would really tear strips out of our heart and probably would kill my mother, and maybe myself as well."

One woman, Marsha Coupe, offered to "trade" places with Miss Cothill.

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, also shared the petition.

A Home Office spokesman said: "All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules.

"The decision made on this case has been upheld by two separate, independent tribunals which considered the full range of evidence presented."