I moved here in 1975, did my O-levels and had a luxury flat...then I lost everything

How a phone call nine years ago changed grandad's life

- JOSEPH TIMAN

WHEN Farhad moved to Manchester in 1975, he was just 15 years old.

Apart from one trip back to Iran three years later, he has never returned to his country of birth. In fact, he has hardly left the UK.

A grandfather of four and great-grandfather of two, he had a 'comfortable' life here, with a career as a building surveyor taking him all over the country. But everything changed when he received a letter from the Home Office in 2015. A few years later, he was homeless.

Like members of the Windrush generation who came from the Caribbean after the Second World War, he was unable to prove that he had the right to live in the UK. As a result, he was threatened with deportation to a country he hardly had any connection to any more.

After spending thousands of pounds on legal fees to apply for visas, Farhad eventually ran out of money and could not afford to renew it. At the time, he was working in Chester, maintaining the vicarages and listed buildings belonging to the Church of England.

He had a company car and a 'luxury' flat that he got at a discounted rate. But with no visa, he had no right to work and lost everything.

"My flat in Chester had two bedrooms," he said. "It was like a luxury flat, five minutes from Chester station in a place called Hoole.

"Very cosmopolitan. Then I had to go to hotels and hostels supporting people in need."

Due to his status, Farhad had no access to public funds which meant he could not claim any benefits while out of work. With the help of charities such as the Booth Centre, he found himself moving around homeless shelters in Manchester. He contemplated suicide.

Looking back at the time he spent in one hotel during that period, the 65-year-old said: "You wonder to yourself, shall I end it now?"