THE FAMILY of an Oxford criminal who is being deported have pleaded with the public to sign a petition asking for the Home Office to let him stay.

Ismaeel Mohammed, who is serving a 26-month prison sentence for drug offences, is being deported to India – despite moving to Oxford when he was just one-years-old.

Now behind bars and without a British citizenship, the 20-year-old formerly of Weirs Lane, is eligible to be sent 'home' to Kashmir.

But a petition to keep him in the country has racked up 1,444 signatures, and the family have urged more to sign before a court hearing on Monday, when his lawyer will apply for bail.