Supporters of an Afghan family facing deportation have threatened to "throw themselves under the wheels of the plane" to prevent it.

Farid and Feriba Ahmadi and their two children were refused asylum in the UK and ordered to return to Germany, the country they first fled to after leaving Afghanistan.

The family took shelter in a mosque at their home in Lye, near Stourbridge, West Midlands, but were forcibly removed by riot police last month.

Farid, 33, and his 24-year-old wife were taken to Harmondsworth detention centre near Heathrow.

'Huge fuss'

Their two children, who cannot be named for legal reason, had been made wards of court but were detained at the centre over the weekend during a visit to see their parents.

The family are due to be deported on Wednesday but supporters say protesters will be "throwing themselves under the plane wheels" to prevent the Ahmadis from leaving the country.

The Ahmadi children, with their identities hidden

Elane Heffernan, of the Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers, said: "Lye is the safest place those children have known in their lives.

"Their mother was going to train as a nurse - goodness knows this country needs nurses - and their father is a skilled mechanic.

"They weren't going to sponge off the state. It's madness to kick them out."

She added: "There will be a huge fuss.

"People will virtually be throwing themselves under plane wheels to stop them being deported."

Psychological well-being

Meanwhile lawyers for the family are planning twin legal moves, one for a judicial review against deportation, and another an appeal against a judge's decision to allow the children, aged four and six, to be locked up.

The family's lawyer, Pierre Makhlouf, said a doctor would examine the Ahmadis on Monday to consider their psychological well-being in the event of them being deported.

He added that a hearing at the High Court in London is expected late on Monday or Tuesday.

Home Office minister Beverley Hughes said the family was being deported to Germany "in accordance with UK and international law".

"The Ahmadi family made their application for asylum in Germany and Germany has agreed to accept them back and consider their case," she said.