A waiter facing deportation to his native Algeria is to meet immigration officers on Friday to discuss an asylum claim.

Mesbah Nana, 26, was arrested two weeks ago at Florios Restaurant, Malton, where he had worked for the last three years.

He was held at Malton Police Station and then at an immigration detention centre in Manchester.

He was released a week later, and returned home to Norton.

Mr Nana came to Britain in 1994 to Sheffield Hallam University.

But he did not take up the course and failed to leave the country when his permission to stay expired.

Martin Dales, a former Mayor of Malton, who has backed Mr Nana's case, said: "Everyone in the town is behind him.

"He has received more than 300 letters of support - he's an extremely popular man."

A spokesman for the Immigration Service said Mr Nana's meeting on Friday in Hull will be a routine interview to discuss his asylum claim.

A final decision about his future would be made following an investigation.

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