A teenager temporarily saved from being sent back to Afghanistan will have to wait around three weeks to find out if he will be allowed to stay in Britain.

Najibullah Hashimi hoped to convince a judge that Kent is his rightful home at London's Taylor House Immigration and Asylum Tribunal Court today.

The 19-year-old (pictured right) has said in previous appeals he feared he would be killed if he returned to the country he fled in 2006.

He also argued he had made a new life for himself here.

But the Home Office ordered his removal and he was due to be flown to the Afghan capital of Kabul on March 18.

He will now have to wait an estimated three weeks to learn the outcome of his appeal.

Foster father Steve Griffiths, said: "We can't do anymore than we've done, so now it's a case of wait and see.

"We've put our argument forward very well, now all the evidence will be looked at and reviewed.

"We had over 10 supporters at the court, including my wife and children.

"It was very stressful for Najib to sit through the evidence and hear about his past life.

"All the while knowing there's a possibility he could be taken away from another family if he's deported."

Afghan student Najibullah Hashimi with foster father Steve Griffiths

More than 2,300 people signed an online petition backing the Sittingbourne Community College student.

As a result, Najib was released from an immigration removal centre in Dover on March 21 - two days before his 19th birthday.

Support for Najib continued with people giving donations to cover the appeal's cost - estimated to be more than £1,600 - after he was refused legal aid.

Excess funds will now be donated to Demelza Hospice Care for Children.

His foster parents Steve Griffiths, 43, and 40-year-old Michelle - who live in Faversham with sons Tyler, 10, and eight-year-old Finlay - accompanied Najib to the appeal.

Najib's girlfriend Lucy Pearce, 15, college students and representatives from Rodmersham Cricket Club - for whom he plays as a bowler - also attended.

Mick Nokes, a supporter of Rodmersham Cricket Club, said: "I sat with with him and he told me his life story, which was a bit hellish as you can imagine.

"But typical of his attitude, he gave me a grin and said 'that part of my life is gone now, Mick - I have a new life and I must make it in England.' That's him all over.

"Everybody that comes into contact with him at the club loves him and, from the youngest to the oldest, they think the world of him."

Najib, his mother, sister and uncle fled the northern Afghan city of Baghlan and moved to Pakistan after his father and brother were killed by an "area commander".

Three years later, news reached them that this man had tracked them down. As a result, they decided the teenager would flee to England. He arrived on February 27, 2009 - aged 14 - on the back of a lorry in Dover.

He barely spoke a word of English, but now lives independently, has 13 GCSEs, and is in his last year of studying towards a level 3 BTEC diploma in sport.

If allowed to stay in Britain, he plans to go to university to study to become a PE teacher.