The children of an Afghan couple at the centre of an asylum row have been briefly reunited with their parents.

On Thursday, Farid and Feriba Ahmadi met their two children, a boy aged four and a girl aged six, at the detention centre near Heathrow Airport where the parents are being held.

Earlier on Thursday the children were made wards of court - which means they cannot be removed from the UK without the permission of the court.

Mr and Mrs Ahmadi were taken into custody last week in a police raid on the mosque in Lye near Stourbridge where they had taken refuge.

We came for my children's future - I am 24 and I have not seen a good life, always bombing, rockets, fighting

Feriba Ahmadi

The Home Office is arguing that the couple should be returned to Germany - where they first sought refuge from the Taleban.

The Home Office has suspended their deportation until after a judicial review into the case.

On Thursday campaigner Elane Heffernan, of the Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers, called for the couple to be given bail.

'Not a threat'

"We want the Home Office to release the Ahmadis from their detention centre," said Miss Heffernan.

"They are not a threat for absconding and this is a civilised and democratic country so we need to behave in a civilised and democratic way."

Under the terms of the order, the children may not be removed from England and Wales without permission of the court.

The Ahmadis say they fled the Taleban regime two years ago with their children to seek refuge in Britain.

Their case caused uproar among Muslim elders after the police and immigration officers smashed their way into a mosque last week.

Future for children

Their children were not at the mosque when officers stormed in and seized the couple.

In the first broadcast interview since their detention, Mrs Ahmadi has told the BBC World Service that they simply wanted a future for their children in Britain.

She said: "I want something for my children, for their future, so when they are grown up, when their schooling is finished they can get a job, go to university.

"We came for my children's future - I am 24 and I have not seen a good life, always bombing, rockets, fighting.

"We have nothing left in Afghanistan. My house is gone and everything I had I gave away to come to Britain."