A father-of-three with a tumour on his skull who was being forced to quarantine in a London hotel can return to Blackburn.

The 42-year-old had visited Pakistan in March after his brother's death and to see his ailing father.

Mohammed Imran Yousaf landed at Heathrow at 5.15am on Friday May 7 but collapsed en route to quarantine. He was taken to hospital where CT scans and X-rays confirmed the tumour was now behind his eye.

His family had already contacted the Quarantine Exemption Department on April 30 and had been told he must still stay in the hotel by himself for 10 days.

Now, following an intervention by MP Kate Hollern, the family was told he will be transferred to Blackburn.

Mr Yousaf, who worked at Asda Blackburn for 20 years, was diagnosed with the tumour in April. He was due back on April 7 and then May 2 – but both flights were cancelled.

His wife Shabana said: “We had been told he would have to stay in a London hotel and he was clearly not fit to do so.

“We can’t thank Kate Hollern enough for her support and help at this time.

“We are hoping now for him be back in Blackburn in the coming days.”

Mrs Hollern said: “The family reached out to me just on Friday and we contacted the Home Office and then the hospital.

“We spoke about Mr Yousaf being seriously ill and I got a registrar to have another look at him.

“He has now been admitted to the hospital and hopefully after speaking to adult social care we will have him transferred to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

“I am really pleased we could help in any way we could. It is good news.”

Mrs Hollern said the government’s rulings did not take into account people’s individual circumstances. She said: “People are being treated in some cases like they are on a production line. In this case Mr Yousaf would have been taken into quarantine when he was clearly very ill.

“Anybody with similar problems should get in touch.”

Mr Yousaf ’s brother Usman, who is in Pakistan said: “Doctors here advised him to have an immediate surgery to remove the tumour as it will affect his eyesight badly and it is damaging his front skull bone.

“We were desperate to get him back to the UK and finally got a flight back this week.

“He was being forced to go back to the hotel for quarantine even though he can’t walk or go to the toilet by himself. He keeps feeling dizzy and is having continuous headaches. Going to the hotel would be a huge risk.”

Mr Yousaf had been told he must quarantine at the Hotel Inn Express Luton where all guests must pay £1,750 following their stay. He had already sustained an injury to his eye after collapsing earlier this week.

Correspondence to the Quarantine Exception Department shows how the family detailed the seriousnesss of the illness. The family also have forms from doctors explaining Mr Yousaf's diagnosis.

Usman added: “After many attempts to contact with quarantine exemption team we got no response at all. Eventually they got in touch and said he must still quarantine.

“We booked his hotel as per government policy in advance.

“We spoke to the doctors and they said we couldn’t do anything about it. It was absolutely stupid leaving him alone when he did not have anything with him. His luggage was to be sent home and he couldn’t be left unattended as we fear he would collapse again because of his serious illness.”

“We were disappointed in the government Quarantine Exemption Department.”