A THATCHAM mother says she fears for her life if she and her daughter are made to return to South Africa.

British citizen Kathy Herselman, 56, is petitioning the Home Office to allow her South African daughter, Kerry-Anne, to remain in the UK, but two applications have been refused and her only option now is an expensive judicial review, which she says she cannot afford.

She says that if Kerry-Anne, who has a number of health issues including ADHD, chronic depression and chemical sensitivity, is forced to return to South Africa she will have no option but to go too as her daughter is too ill to live alone.

This will mean returning to a country where she says she was psychically, emotionally and psychologically abused by her ex-husband for over 25 years.

“Our lives are on hold at the moment as we don’t know how much time we have left,” Mrs Herselman told the Newbury and Thatcham Chronicle. “After six years here, we are settled and have made our lives here.

“We are living a peaceful life and there is nowhere for us to go back to in South Africa; we won’t survive there.”

Mrs Herselman fled South Africa with her daughter six years ago after finally finding the courage to escape her abusive marriage. Kerry-Anne, who is 30, came in to Britain on an ancestry visa, which has now expired.

“I have got nothing left in South Africa,” added Mrs Herselman.

“I have got my family here, my work here and I am settled. I have started a new life.

“My plea to the Home Office is that they can see that I am a mother and I am just trying to take care of my loved one the best way I can. We have been through this abuse and just want to be safe.

“All I am asking is to be able to live in peace and take care of the person I love. I have just got to hope for the best and trust in God.”

Mrs Herselman said her daughter has been told that if she is scared of her father she must move to a different area of South Africa when she returns and that if she misses her family in England she should communicate with them via the internet.

Mrs Herselman has a meeting with Newbury MP Richard Benyon on July 15, when she will ask him to help her get her message across to the Home Office.