Their story almost defies belief. Orphaned by the murder of their parents, twins Kamila and Karina Kaya faced a dangerous future in Kyrgystan, once part of the Soviet empire.

Fearing for their safety, an uncle managed to get the terrified 15-year-old girls on the first plane out, which happened to be bound for Heathrow. The pair arrived in the UK in 2004 with nothing more than their birth certificates, three photographs and a letter from the uncle.

Shortly after, they moved to Birmingham and started a new life, enrolling at Bournville College where they excelled, quickly becoming fluent English speakers.

Their plans to train to become doctors, however, were cut short after their 18th birthday last November, when the past caught up with them.

No longer viewed as children under British law, immigration officers decided they no longer qualified for safe haven. Without warning, they were detained when they turned up to register at the immigration office in Solihull on December 22.

"Seven men came out and said 'you are moving from this country'. They didn't give us a chance to get our belongings," said Kamila.

"They were standing in front of us as if we had done something wrong."

The terrified Jewish sisters were taken to a detention centre in Bedford and told they were to be deported back to Kyrgystan.

"We were in shock," said Karina. "We were unable to eat for ten days because we were so stressed. They didn't explain anything, they just took us away."

The sisters had been due to be deported on January 3, but were bought time by the fog that grounded flights at the beginning of the year.

It gave the Jewish community, who are paying for the girls' expenses, time to mount a media campaign, which resulted in an offer from Israel to take them in.

Though grateful for the offer, what the pair really want is to stay in the British city they have grown to love.

"We like Israel very much, but we can't start again," said Karina. "It would be so hard to learn a different language. We came here when we were 15 and started to learn English and all our friends are here. We want to stay because we have made a life in Britain."

The sisters are reluctant to talk about the traumatic circumstances that made them flee Kyrgystan.

Immigration officials view the state as a safe country and claim there is no proof to back up the girls' story. But Lorraine Edwards, of Birmingham Jewish Community Care, said: "Where do you get the proof from? Kyrgystan is a country that doesn't share information.

"There should be some common sense. We have seen the girls in tears, they are lonely with no parents and have no one in the world. When they last saw their mother she told them to go out of the window and get to their uncle's house. He told them their mother and father had been murdered."

Ms Edwards said she feared for the girls if forced to return. "Who is going to take two young girls? They fear they will be forced into the sex trade, they are beautiful girls in their prime."

Norman Cave, principal of Bournville College, criticised the way the youngsters were being treated.

"It is an embarrassment. As someone who has been in education 25 years, I do find the value system underpinning this to be objectionable," he said.

"They are model students, they recognise what this country has given to them and want to give something back."

The Home Office refused to comment but a spokesman said: "The Government has made it clear it will take a robust approach to removing people from the country where they have no legal right to be here.

"All applications for asylum are carefully considered by trained caseworkers based on accurate up to date information, taking into account all the circumstances, including, where appropriate, a person's religious beliefs.