THE teenagers recalled their lives in Sri Lanka and revealed what it would mean for them to be able to stay in the UK.

Polite and quietly-spoken, Jeevitha and Neeraja, both 15, spoke of the day last July when their mother told them they had to leave the country immediately shortly after their father had disappeared.

Neeraja, a Year 9 pupil, said: "We had just our clothes. Jeevitha, in Year 10, added: "Not even a toothbrush. Mum just had clothes, it was so quick."

Jeevitha spoke of life as a student in Sri Lanka, where they were in a school with 300 students.

She said: "If I was in Sri Lanka there's fighting and sometimes we don't go to school because it's not safe at school. We would stay home with mum. If we stay here we will do GCSEs and go to college. I want to be a doctor when I'm older, but it depends on good grades.

"We spoke a little bit of English when we came here. We have got lots of friends in school everybody is very friendly."

Neeraja, who likes sports and particularly the long jump, celebrated her 15th birthday at the weekend and was delighted to have a cake given to her by one of the teachers to take home.

She said: "I would be happier here if I got to stay. I feel safe here. I am scared to go back. We want everybody to do letters." Jeevitha added: "At first we did not know anybody, but then we went to church and started meeting people and then we were happy."