Exile wins appeal to stay

Mr Viteri fled to Market Harborough from Ecuador

A former high-ranking South American naval officer says he feels "reborn" after being told he can stay in his adopted home in Leicestershire.

Captain Rogelio Viteri fled his native Ecuador after he received death threats.

In March this year the Home Office refused his application, saying that the South American country had returned to democracy.

But after winning the right to appeal, he has been told it has been recommended he should be allowed to stay.

Long battle

Captain Viteri was a naval officer in his native Ecuador.

He was accused of treason and put in jail in 2001 after he exposed alleged corruption in the military.

But he was freed and returned to Market Harborough with his wife and two children where he has lived for nearly three years.

The Home Office told him on Wednesday that it will not contest his appeal, and is recommending that he be granted indefinite leave to stay in Britain.

Captain Viteri, who was approached about becoming Ecuadorian Vice President, is looking forward to making a new life in Market Harborough.

He said: "It has been a very long battle to get here.

"In our country we were on the verge of death, so getting this news is like being reborn."