STOLEN from the streets of Vietnam as a child and forced to work as a slave in a North-East cannabis farm, all Stephen dreamt of was a safe place to call home.

But having finally found sanctuary with a vicar and his wife that dream was shattered after the 19-year-old's application for asylum was turned down.

Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman branded the Home Office ruling as 'grotesque' and the Bishop of Durham has backed his appeal.

Ms Goodman was so shocked at the refusal of Asylum and Humanitarian Protection she wrote to Home Secretary Amber Rudd urging her to intervene with the case.

Stephen, whose identity is withheld for his protection, was abandoned as a baby and raised by his only known relative who died of cancer when he was eight. Homeless and collecting rubbish from the streets of Vietnam to survive, at ten he was picked up by a criminal gang and trafficked to the UK.

He was then held captive and made to grow cannabis until he was rescued by authorities following a drugs raid on Tyneside.

Aged 16, he was fostered by Reverend David Tomlinson, the vicar at St John's Church in Shildon, and his wife Davina, finished his education and applied for asylum.

Mrs Tomlinson said: "We gave him a safe place away from his captors.

"He was so quiet, vulnerable and couldn't speak English but worked hard at college and helps other students with the language now. He is a very helpful, kind young man, who has made friends, got a girlfriend and is part of our family.

"It is awful to think of him being sent back. He was a street child in Vietnam, how can he go back as an adult after all that has happened?"

As a converted Christian, Stephen believes he would be at risk of persecution in Vietnam, a communist state with laws limiting freedom of religion.

Ms Goodman said: "It is clear that if he is returned to Vietnam Stephen would once again become a victim of a state failure to protect his human rights– this time it would be the UK government letting him down."

Rev Tomlinson said: "Stephen's basic human rights have been trampled on, firstly by a cruel and disinterested communist state that allows its children to be abused by criminals, and secondly by the British state in reinforcing this by first rescuing, then discarding him.

"I believe we are a better nation than this and call on the Home Office to urgently review its procedures to allow the abused and marginalised to flourish."

Stephen is awaiting the outcome of an appeal, which the Bishop of Durham Paul Butler wrote in support of after Stephen told his story to the Diocesan Synod last month.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and every case is assessed on its individual merits.

"If someone is found not to need our protection we expect them to leave the UK."