An American couple living in Deal are reaching out for support in a desperate bid to be allowed to stay in the UK.

Originally from New Jersey, Raine and Gwydian Lott, both 40, and medical-assistance dog Boo are staying in a friend’s flat in Lord Warden Avenue.

They have been living in England for almost a decade, in which time they have lost everything. They are being supported by friends and food banks, and are desperate to live an honest life in the UK.

But unless the Home Office grants them a compassionate circumstances UK visa, UK Border Agency staff could forcibly remove them at any time.

They have now started a petition, which they hope will receive 100 signatures – enabling it to be presented to the Home Office.

Mrs Lott said: “We love this country, its people, its culture, even its weather, and have been here almost 10 years.

“We are British now. We’d love to be allowed to remain in our adopted home and to nationalise, to become truly British.”

The couple, who have been married for 22 years, moved to the UK in 2007 when Mrs Lott was accepted on to an English Literature degree course at Oxford.

But soon after arriving here they were beset with multiple personal tragedies, including the shocking loss of five immediate family members – all four of their parents and a sister-in-law, to leukaemia, lung cancer, kidney failure, heart complications and MS.

The costs of helping with medical bills, the unexpected travel, and the loss of Mr Lott’s planned job in London, meant they suffered great financial loss.

The family homes in the US were also lost due to the cost of massive medical bills.

To top it off, Mrs Lott’s health was deteriorating. She suffers from extremely severe headaches, blackouts, hallucinations, memory loss and difficulty concentrating.

She has extreme pain and lack of mobility, high blood pressure, and is affected by claustrophobia, anxiety and depression.

They say the final straw came when their possessions were taken by bailiffs and they were forced to stay with friends, before spending nearly a year living in a mouldy tent on the side of the motorway at St Albans.

Their MP in St Albans took on their case but to no avail.

They have now contacted Deal MP Charlie Elphicke, as well as the American ambassador.

Mrs Lott said: “We’ve been chasing the Home Office for about seven years now and we’ve never had any clear answers. We just get sent back and forth.

“We’re intelligent people, kind people and we want to work. We want to pay our taxes and be part of a community.”

“We love this country, its people, its culture, even its weather, and have been here almost 10 years" - Gwydian Lott

Mr Lott is desperate to find work as an audio engineer, and Mrs Lott is writing a book.

Mrs Lott said: “We know it’s a cliche, but within hours of being in Deal we knew this is where we’d like to stay.”

Mr Lott said: “We look out our front window and there’s people along the promenade. Everyone is so lovely and there’s so many dogs. It’s the first town we’ve been to where people have been so pet-friendly.”

If sent back to the USA, they would be homeless in a high-crime area and unable to afford Mrs Lott’s vital medication. They would also have no connections after five years away.

Mr Elphicke said: “I have taken this matter up with the Home Office and presented the Lott family’s case. It’s right that the Home Office determine this matter in accordance with proper processes and the law.”

Home Office press officer Bev Morgan said: “All applications are considered on their individual merits, including any exceptional or compassionate circumstances, and in line with the immigration rules.

“Where someone does not have the right to remain we expect them to leave the UK voluntarily, and we offer assistance to help people return to their home country. If they do not leave voluntarily, we will seek to enforce their departure.”

To support the couple and sign their petition, visit http://chn.ge/2abf3SV