Rev Simon Tatton-BrownGAZETTE & HERALD: CHURCH fundraisers have been left fuming after a group of Ugandan visitors were refused entry to Britain by Government officials because of fears they might stay here illegally.

The British High Commission in Uganda has refused to grant visas to the group of 17, which included several youths, a priest, a trainee priest, a head teacher and an aid worker.

The visitors, from the Diocese of Mukono, were due to arrive yesterday to visit churches and stay with local people in the Chippenham area.

Churches across the region have been fundraising for the trip and collected £8,000 for flights, accommodation and expenses.

St Andrew's Church, Chippenham, held a sale three weeks ago and raised £500.

The Reverend Simon Tatton-Brown, Area Dean of Chippenham and vicar of of St Andrew's Church, said: "The High Commission has cast doubts on the group's ability to pay their way, and states that on the balance of probabilities the visitors won't leave the UK at the end of their stay.

"We sent them a letter from the Bishop of Bristol and a fax from James Gray MP. Are they not prepared to take assurance from bona fide people and a member of parliament?"

"People have worked hard to raise the money and draw up a programme just to see it fall through our fingers. There is a feeling of powerlessness. We did everything that seemed to be required and it has not helped."

Aurea Hart, from Marshfield, the lay chair of the Deanery Synod, said the project began at a meeting of the deanery synod in November, when they set themselves the challenge of raising the money to find the trip.

Fundraising events included a giant sale at Marshfield, lunches, jumble sales and coffee mornings.

"We'd got a long way towards meeting the target," said Ms Hart.

She travelled to Uganda last February for a two-week visit and encountered no problems getting a visa or staying in the country.

When the Ugandans visa application was turned down, despite the reams of supporting documents, including the programme of the visit, details of where they were staying and the letter of invitation, Ms Hart said she was appalled.

"This must have made them feel so unwanted, let down and disappointed," she said.

"We went out there to find out more about them and wanted them to come here to find out who we are. I am sure they would teach us a lot when they came to our churches.

"Their Christianity is so much more open than ours. We would have learned a lot from them."

The group was due to stay in homes in Chippenham and Marshfield for three weeks and a full programme of activities had been put together.

North Wiltshire MP James Gray called the decision utterly ridiculous.

"I have written a very stiff letter to the high commissioner in Kampala and have expressed my wishes that this be sorted out as soon as possible," he said.

"I understand they wanted more investigations into the diocese deanery, but if you can't trust the Dean, who can you trust? I hope to have a reply from the High Commissioner quickly."

The visit was one of a series going back over 25 years. A delegation from Chippenham visited Uganda in February last year and this was meant to be the exchange visit for the Ugandans.

The Bishop of Mukono said: "We are also very disappointed with the decision of the British High Commission and we do not know why they have decided not to give visas to our group. "

Mr Tatton-Brown said he believed there might have been a problem with the bank statements sent to the British High Commission because they were in the process of changing bank accounts. "They said they only had record of £3,000 and not the £4,000 which HSBC had confirmed in a letter. I think they were looking for an excuse on a technicality," he said.

A Home Office spokesman said it could not comment on individual cases.