A Margate councillor whose son served in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan has urged Thanet residents to speak out against the “disgusting” treatment of a hero soldier’s widow.

Ted Watt-Ruffell, the deputy mayor of Margate, is launching a petition in the New Year in support of the family of Krishna Dura.

The 36-year-old colour sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Gurkha Rifles, was killed when the vehicle he was in was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in November.

His wife Uma and two young daughters, who had been living at Howe Barracks in Canterbury, are now threatened with deportation because the widows of Gurkhas, Nepalese soldiers in British Army, are not automatically entitled to remain in the UK.

Politicians and councillors from all parties have recently voiced their support for Mrs Dura and her children, including Cllr Watt-Ruffell, who plans to present a list of Thanet residents angered by the family’s plight to the government in 2009.

He said: “I think it’s digusting that a man who lost his life fighting for his country and his widow can be treated in this way.

“My son has served in the British Army and has fought in the Middle East. I’d hate to think that his family would ever be treated as appallingly as Mr Dura’s wife and children have been.

“This isn’t a political issue; it’s a human rights one and it’s something that we must highlight.

“Everyone in Thanet needs to show their support for Mrs Dura’s plight.”

To support the campaign to prevent Mrs Dura and her family being deported, write to Cllr Watt-Ruffell, c/o Thanet District Council, Cecil Street, Margate, CT9 1XZ or e-mail cllr-edwin.watt-ruffell@thanet.gov.uk