AN MP stepped in to help when a young beauty student was detained at the UK border as she tried to make her way to Yeadon.

The Yorkshire College of Beauty contacted Leeds North West MP Alex Sobel after Princess Daniels, 17, was stopped at 5am at Gatwick Airport.

Princess was travelling to the UK from Bermuda to study on a five and a half month programme at the Yeadon college. She was accompanied by her mum, Camille, and her baby sister.

But she says she was detained for five hours in a “shambolic” process as she was questioned about the length of her course and her mother’s identity. She says she was eventually allowed to travel on to Yeadon after intervention from the college and Mr Sobel.

The MP later visited the college to see how Princess was settling in.

He said: “It was a pleasure to meet with Princess and her family and see that she is enjoying her new surroundings. It was also fantastic to visit the college and see the range of courses and apprenticeships on offer there. “

Principal Christine Tilley said: “It was fantastic to meet with Alex and to have his help on a difficult case involving one of our students.”

Princess said her application for a visa to study had been declined because it was not believed she would return home on the course’s completion.

She added: “The irony is that I have a passport which allows me entry without a visa into the UK to study for up to six months anyway. I therefore decided to just get on a plane and come to the UK to do the course which I had paid for which was less than six months.

“I was detained on entry at Gatwick and not allowed through passport control. The reason stated was that I could not prove it was my mother who was travelling with me and that the course I was intending doing was longer than six months.”

She said the situation was eventually resolved with the help of college and Mr Sobel.

She stressed: “I found the whole process to be shambolic and a poor reflection of the UK.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We welcome international students who want to come to the UK to study, but Border Force officers must be satisfied individuals are attending legitimate courses and will comply with the immigration rules. Officers also have a duty to safeguard the welfare of those under the age of 18 arriving in the country.

“This can involve officers making further enquiries, but this is always done as quickly as possible to allow legitimate passengers to proceed with their journey.”