Middlesbrough couple trapped in Afghanistan forced to hide in cave

A man trapped in Afghanistan says he and his wife have been forced to hide in a cave from the Taliban as they wait for help to flee to the UK.

Ahmed, a British citizen who has lived in Middlesbrough for 20 years, had been visiting family but was unable to get a flight home when the regime took over.

MP Andy McDonald said some constituents faced visa issues preventing family members from being able to travel.

The Foreign Office said it was doing all it could to secure safe passages.

Mr McDonald said five families from Teesside were still trapped, some who had been there for a wedding before the Taliban took control in mid-August.

While 27 people had already left, a similar number remained and many did not have the documents they needed to leave.

He said one man told him although he was able to return, he would not leave his wife who faced visa issues, and she had threatened "to burn herself alive" if she was left to "the horrors of the Taliban".

"That's how desperate people are," the Labour MP said.

"The difficulty we have with that cohort of people is that 17 do not have visas and there is no visa waiver scheme in place - and of course they will not abandon their loved ones.

"We are appealing to the Foreign Office to help us with these cases."

Ahmed - whose name has been changed to protect his identity - fled to the UK more than 20 years ago to escape the Taliban, and made his home in Middlesbrough.

Ahmed's original flight home was cancelled and he was turned away at Kabul airport, despite holding a British passport.

He was previously forced to hide in a sewer and a disused building to keep out of sight from daily Taliban patrols.

"Me and my wife are living in this cave for three nights now and we need immediate help," he told the BBC.

"If you don't help us we are going to die here - please help us."

The Foreign Office said it had evacuated more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan since mid-August and will continue to do all it can to help British nationals leave the country.

"We will continue to do all we can to secure safe passage to enable British nationals and eligible Afghans to leave the country," a spokesperson said.

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