Bruce Mpofu moved to Bradford at aged 9 and has lived in the UK his whole life, moving to Yorkshire as a child with his mum - who works for the NHS.
He knows no one in Zimbabwe, the country he has just been deported to, and was given just £40 to start a new life with after Home Office officials made the decision to deport him for a crime he had committed years before.
Now aged 29, Bruce was deported for a crime he committed in 2010 - and which he has already served 11 months in jail for. He has not reoffended since.
However, when attending a routine immigration meeting in July, he found he was being detained.
Now, following a series of legal battles, he has been deported with just £40 in his pocket - having been put on a charter flight from Heathrow airport and flown to Harare, Zimbabwe following the decisino by Home Office officials.
A Go Fund Me has been set up to try and reverse the deportation and to help Bruce survive in Zimbabwe, where it is feared he will become homeless.
The appeal reads: "Whilst he made a mistake as a minor, he has nothing but been an upstanding citizen since and the decision from the Home Office seems cruel and unjust.
"Bruce was deported to Zimbabwe at 10pm on 25th August.
"Bruce has landed in Harare and the UK government have given him a huge sum of £40 to help him start his new life. This is why there are people who have been deported from the UK now sleeping rough in Zimbabwe.
"We are now desperately trying to raise funds to help prevent Bruce from being homeless. It will also help him with things that we take for granted such as food and clothing."
At the time of writing, the Go Fund Me appeal for Bruce has raised over £5,000.
Before this summer. no mass deportation flights had left for Zimbabwe in over a decade.
However, according to reports in Bradford's The Telegraph and Argus, it is said that the UK has "agreed a deal with the country’s new government which enables removals of Zimbabwean nationals who have served prison sentences in the UK of more than 12 months."
When the paper approached the Home Office for comment, they said:
“Foreign criminals who abuse our hospitality should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. Since January 2019 we have removed 7,985 foreign national offenders from the UK.
“We only ever return those who we and, where applicable, the courts are satisfied do not need our protection and have no legal basis to remain in the UK.
“All people in IRCs are provided with a mobile phone and have access to landline telephones on request, fax machines, email, and video calling facilities which can be used to contact legal representatives. We check the signal regularly and no issues have been recorded.”
It's fantastic news for our city as Leeds has been crowned one of the best cities in the UK for foodies.
It's news that we've been pretty certain of for some time, but it's still nice to be recognised isn't it?
It comes from a new study carried out by credit card brand Aqua who analysed 30 major UK cities across a range of dining and social media metrics, including cuisine variety, restaurant availability, meal affordability, Michelin recognition and TikTok hashtag volumes.
Coming in at number on was, of course, London.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
With 47 cuisines, 22.5 restaurants per 10,000 residents and 81 Michelin-starred establishments, the capital unsurprisingly continues to dominate the UK’s culinary scene.
But in at number two was our glorious city of Leeds, supported by the highest restaurant density in the study, with 38.5 establishments per 10,000 people, and strong affordability compared with cities in the south.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
We will absolutely take that.
Other northern spots to feature on the list include Sheffield and Bradford in sixth and eighth place.
The top ten UK cities for foodies are:
London
Leeds
Nottingham
Edinburgh
Wolverhampton / Leicester
Sheffield
Birmingham / Glasgow
Bradford / Swansea
Preston
Milton Keynes
Here in Leeds we've got so many fabulous food spots, with new openings cropping up every month it's hard to keep track.
From the multi award-winning Bavette Bistro in Horsforth to the highly acclaimed indie Bundobust that started off in Leeds - you certainly won't find yourself hungry or at a loss for somewhere to eat here.
Sheffield amongst nine areas to be long listed for UK City of Culture 2029
Clementine Hall
It's big news for Sheffield as the city has officially been long listed to become the UK City of Culture in 2029.
It’s one of just nine places across the country to make the cut, alongside the likes of Blackpool, Portsmouth and Wrexham.
Winning the title could bring huge investment to Sheffield, thousands of visitors, and a massive spotlight on everything that makes our city special - and let’s be honest, Sheffield’s got plenty to shout about.
From music and film to art and grassroots creativity, culture runs right through this city, and it would be a huge achievement to receive this title.
So, what happens now? Each arena will now receive £60,000 to develop a full application with the aim to build a vibrant cultural programme by 2028.
The nine confirmed long listed locations are: Blackpool, Inverness-Highland, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "For far too long, opportunity has not been shared equally across the country. The UK City of Culture and new UK Town of Culture competitions recognise the enormous contributions made by communities all over the UK who are all part of the story of who we are as a nation.
"I look forward to seeing what the nine long listed places have in store as they progress in the competition. I also urge any towns thinking about entering the UK Town of Culture competition to seize this opportunity and get involved. It’s a chance to show the country what makes them unique and shine a spotlight on their cultural offer, enriching the lives of local people."
Go on Sheffield, we're rooting for you big time. We can't think of a city more worthy.
Georgina Pellant -
6th September 2021 
