A CHRISTIAN singer on his way to a concert in Poole was held for nine hours by immigration officials – and then deported back to the US.

Don Francisco is due to appear alongside dozens of talented children at Lighthouse in a musical production entitled Why Good Friday? from March 23 to 25.

But the show’s producer, Brian Harries of Swanage, said: “Immigration did not believe that Don was coming to do the show for nothing and sent him back home after keeping him at the airport for nine hours.

“I am very disappointed and there are also many children involved in the production who will be extremely disappointed.” Speaking from his home in Denver, Mr Francisco said: “I arrived at immigration with a new passport since mine had expired the previous month. “It became obvious that the officer did not want to let me in. I told him I had come to England dozens of times over the last 30 years and had never had any problems with entry before.

“He asked me if I had my old passport with me to prove this. I didn’t – the last thing I thought I would need was an old expired passport. Things went downhill from there.”

He said he was searched, photographed, fingerprinted and offered a “rancid” sandwich during his nine-hour detention, before armed guards put him on a plane back to the US.

He said: “It is deeply saddening to have something like this happen and to know that future trips to the UK may now be difficult or impossible.”

Mr Harries said: “I am still hoping to get him to Poole in time and am currently talking to various people in authority to try to get him back here. He now has a black mark on his passport and everything takes time, but with or without Don, the show must go on.”

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said Mr Francisco was deported because he did not have the right documentation following the introduction of a new points-based system for temporary workers. She said: “We welcome the contribution of performers but it is important that everyone who comes to this country plays by the same rules.

“People who want to do temporary work need a valid certificate of sponsorship and to pass the points-based system to come to the UK.”