A BOLTON boxing champion is facing deportation from the country despite being chosen to represent England and Great Britain.

Cindy Ngamba has been in the UK since 2012 when she moved with her uncle at just 13 years old but has been told by the Home Office that she has until October 4 to present her case or face being extradited.

The talented 21-year-old holds the English Boxing National Amateur Championship and looked poised to compete on the international stage before problems arose with her paperwork.

She was even introduced to Theresa May and received high praise when the former Prime Minister visited Bolton Lads and Girls Club in April.

However, Miss Ngamba, who lives with her father in Halliwell, now fears that she will be forced to move back to Cameroon.

“In England I have a routine, a life,” she told The Bolton News.

“I have friends and family. If I have to go back there I will be alone again.”

She added: “When I grew up I felt like I was from here. I didn’t think of myself as an immigrant.

“My father has been trying to fix this for years but he hasn’t been able to.

“The Home Office says that I must have come into this country illegally and they have threatened to deport me.”

When she was brought into the UK as a child, Miss Ngamba said she had documentation but this was lost when her uncle went back to Cameroon.

It was not until she was 16 years old and tried to apply to start college that she realised she did not have the correct papers.

She said: “When I was on my last day in school they needed my visa to approve me for college. It wasn’t until then that I went to see my father and found out that I didn’t have the passport.

“It was so depressed I couldn’t do what other people my age would do — what other girls would do — like passing your driving licence or getting an ID. I couldn’t go out because I didn’t have the papers. I couldn’t do my theory test.

“I had the chance to go to America through sponsors but I couldn’t because of my papers.”

She added: “I understand where they are coming from because if you look at it that is how people are treated when they run away from bad things that are happening. I don’t expect to be treated differently.

“I was brought here as a child illegally and I understand that it’s their job to remove people like me. But as a child I had no idea what was happening.”

Miss Ngamba says her lawyers hope that letters from the English and British boxing teams sent to the Home Office will help her case.

The young boxer will be told after the October 4 deadline whether she is eligible to stay in the country or should prepare to be deported.

She has only been competing for four years but showed great talent to quickly rise through the ranks.

In April, she defeated Carly Ogogo — sister of 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Anthony — to take home the national amateur belt in just her seventh official bout.

The win meant she would have gone on to represent England if she had had a valid passport.

It was followed by a meeting with then-Prime Minister Mrs May who came to Bolton see the work going on at Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

Following their conversation the ex-Conservative leader praised Miss Ngamba, calling her “absolutely great”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The case is ongoing and so it would be inappropriate to comment.”