Amin Buratee's father, brother and uncle have all been killed

Councillor Martin Vye has written to Home Secretary David Blunkett pleading with him to stop Amin Buratee being sent back to Afghanistan.

Amin, an 18-year-old pupil at Canterbury High School, is being held at Dover Removal Centre.

Cllr Vye said Amin would be an asset to the country if he was granted asylum.

'Safe to return'

It would be "sheer humanity" to allow him to finish his A-levels, he added.

Last week classmates and teachers at Amin's school backed his plea for asylum and held a candlelit vigil outside the removal centre.

Amin, who moved to the UK two years ago, was taken from his home in Whitstable by immigration officers.

The government insists it is now safe for him to return to Afghanistan but friends have said he fears for his life if he returns there.

He fled after his uncle and brother were killed by the Taleban, and has since been told by the Home Office that his father has also been killed.

However, the Home Office has said the country is getting safer, and that it is sending back people who do not qualify for asylum.

The MP for Canterbury and Whitstable, Julian Brazier, has also written to the Home Office urging it to review Amin's case.