A MOTHER is begging officials to show "humanity" and release her teenage son from a detention centre.

Satnam Gurwara, aged 16, is being held at the secure facility at Manchester Airport.

The family, who are Sikh Afghan asylum seekers, live in Great Lever.

Satnam was detained on Tuesday when he went to report to immigration officials in Salford.

His mother, Pretepal, aged 39, said: “We escaped the Taliban in Afghanistan for our safety, only for my son to be taken from me and put into a prison.

“How would these people like it if their child was taken away from them? How would they feel? I cannot live without my son.”

Mrs Gurwara, her husband Rewandar, aged 46, their son and two daughters Jasmeen, aged 17 and Simran, aged 12, fled Afghanistan in April, 2007.

They arrived in London and applied for asylum.

Their application was rejected and they are awaiting the outcome of an appeal.

A campaign is now being launched to reunite the family and a petition is in circulation.

A meeting in support of the family is being held at the Socialist Club in Wood Street, Bolton town centre, next Wednesday at 7.30pm.