A HAMPSHIRE nurse who faces being kicked out of the country because of a visa blunder could be given one last chance to appeal against the decision.

Corazon Caro, pictured above, from the Philippines, has worked at the accident and emergency department at Southampton General Hospital for the past three and a half years.

However, government bosses want her thrown out of the country after she accidentally allowed her visa and work permit to expire by five months.

A judge is expected to make a crucial decision in a few days' time on whether an appeal against the deportation order will be heard.

Messages of support for the 29-year-old senior nurse have flooded in after the Daily Echo highlighted her plight on Friday.

"The support is overwhelming and brings me to tears," said Miss Caro, of Dale Valley Road, Shirley Warren, Southampton.

"I am really hoping it will be a late Easter present for me."

The Home Office told her she must leave the country and had no right to appeal after she realised her mistake.

Alan Whitehead, MP for Southampton Test, is supporting her battle.

He told the Daily Echo: "She is doing a job which is very important to Southampton and the hospital service.

"She didn't apply at exactly the right time but it would be good if discretion were exercised.

"There really should be a way to deal with this. It would not just be a loss for her but also for Southampton."

The senior nurse has lodged an appeal with the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, which deals with appeals made against Home Office decisions.

A spokesman for the department of constitutional affairs, which runs the service, said it should take about five days for a judge to decide whether or not an appeal could go ahead.

If it does, it should take about eight weeks before a hearing is held, and another fortnight before a decision on Miss Caro's fate is made.

Her leading supporter Allen Reilly, a branch secretary of UNISON, has vowed to lobby the Home Office minister for immigration if that fails. He has the power to overturn the decision.

"I am positive we will get a good result," said Mr Reilly.

"It is just the time factor and red tape - we are battling against bureaucracy and it doesn't work fast.

"I am pleased she is getting such support. She is a very skilled nurse and very highly thought of in the hospital."

A 240-signature petition has been collected by colleagues of Miss Caro at the A&E department where she worked.