A 74-year-old man, Lewin Williams, is fighting to avoid deportation from Britain on grounds that he is battling cancer and will die if he is forced to go back to Jamaica, where he won’t be able to afford life-saving treatment.

Williams has been living in Birmingham since 2003, after overstaying his visitor’s visa which expired in June 2004, saying he was under the impression that he had settled status, the Mirror Online reported.

He said he was first diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2019 and has been battling the illness. He has been in and out of hospital ever since whilst undergoing chemotherapy.

The news outlet quoted Williams, who lives in Acocks Green, as saying he faces being sent back to Jamaica, where he has no family and cannot afford medical expenses, adding: “I can’t pay for the treatment, and if the Home Office sends me back to Jamaica I will die because I can’t afford it.

“I don’t try to hurt anyone, I just keep myself to myself and I don’t want any trouble. I’ve never been to a court since I came to England, and I have to [now] go because of immigration — that’s the only time I know the inside of a court,” said Williams.

“The only thinking I had in me is ‘how will I make it and when am I going to pass away?’ I kept praying and praying. I just keep going.”

According to the Mirror Online, Williams first made an application to remain in the UK in September 2019 on the grounds of his medical condition. However, this was refused in December of the same year.

The court has now granted permission to appeal, but Williams fears he will be sent back to a place where he cannot afford the medical expenses and has no support.

The document reads the difference in health-care facilities between the United Kingdom and Jamaica is “substandard”.

Williams’ case worker, Alman Mirza from Migrant Voice said: “Here we have an elderly man from Jamaica who has been in the UK for over 18 years and has cancer. How could any decent human being not want him to get life-saving treatment?”

Throughout his years living in the UK Williams had done gardening for local people to earn money. He also attended the New Testament Church of God in Highgate, the news outlet said.

It quoted his pastor, Sheryl Lindo-Mason, as saying: “Lewin first came to our church three or four years ago. He was a regular attendant at the church. However, we lost contact with him. But we soon realised he was very poorly and at the hospital for a long time.

“During the lockdown we maintained contact with him as he was one of those people we provided meals for,” she added.

A Home Office spokesperson gave the usual response to queries: “We do not routinely comment on individual cases. All visa cases are considered according to their merits.”