A BARNSLEY teenager who became the youngest person in the UK to earn a karate black belt aged just seven looks set to have his dreams of competing for his country in Europe shattered - after a government mix-up left him without a passport in time for his flight.

Mayon Jayawickrama, of Midland Road, Royston, was selected to represent England in the European Shotokan Karate-Do Association (ESKA) Championships in Portugal, which starts today.

However, despite being born in the UK and living in the town for the last decade, he has always been registered as an asylum seeker and did not have a passport - an issue which sparked outrage from hundreds of his supporters in the run-up to the event as it prevented him from travelling.

His parents, who are from Sri Lanka, last applied for his citizenship in 2020 - having first done so almost a decade prior - but were left awaiting a response from the Home Office until Monday night.

Upon receiving the green light, they rushed to Liverpool on Tuesday to bring home his long-awaited passport in time for the team’s flight.

However, despite finally being granted British citizenship after a decade-long fight at the very last minute - much to the joy of the country’s karate leaders who fought for the fast-tracked passport to be granted - Mayon’s family then received news that he would have to wait five working days for it to come through.

The decision - made on Wednesday - means he missed the flight’s deadline and the young karate star has been left in limbo as to whether he can fly out this weekend due to the five-working-day guidance.

His mum, Nilupuli Samarasinghe - who is also a black belt - told the Chronicle the support her family’s received has been ‘overwhelming’ but said she was upset with this week’s ‘rollercoaster’ outcome.

“We’ve hoped for so long that Mayon could go so we were just so disappointed that we have had to go through these issues again,” she said.

“He’s 14, he’s a talented boy who’s done so much work to continue his journey, so we were all devastated when it appeared as though he could not compete for the country where he was born.

“Mayon’s thrived here and he’s been in Barnsley for most of his life - he’s a Barnsley boy who’s supported by many and without the campaign over the last few weeks, maybe he wouldn’t have been able to go at all.

“It’s been a hectic period and we had to rush to Liverpool - it appeared he had finally been treated fairly.

“We were so excited to come home with the passport on Wednesday so he could make the initial flight.

“We were then told by the passport office there that children have to wait five working days for it to be granted, despite me and others saying - in writing - as to why there’d been other circumstances preventing it in the past.

“We also handed in his country’s selection letter to show why it was needed to be pushed through faster.

“They told us that they’d attach the add-ons to Mayon’s application for a passport in the hope it’d go through faster, but said it wasn’t a guarantee.

“I appreciate that the reason they say children’s applications go through slower is due to safeguarding, but we’ve done this for years before.”

A petition which picked up pace this week - signed by more than 300 people and backed by Barnsley MPs - called on the government to act swiftly to finally expedite Mayon’s application in light of what he stood to lose and ensure UK-born children are prioritised going forward to ensure no other young talents face similar barriers.

At the tender age of just four, Mayon started taking part in karate and began entering competitions just two years later.

Usually children don’t start taking part in the sport until they are about seven, but an exception was made for Mayon who began to show talent at a young age.

He has secured a number of titles since and saw the call-up to the national squad as a ‘huge honour’ after more than a decade of practising the martial art.

A spokesperson from the Karate Union of Great Britain added: “Mayon’s a familiar face at KUGB courses and competitions, and our current national kumite champion for the 12 to 13 age group.

“Mayon’s dedication to karate has been clear from a young age and he earned the honour of representing England at the European Shotokan Karate-Do Association (ESKA) Championships.

“However, his chance to compete has been jeopardised due to a long, unresolved citizenship application.

“Mayon’s parents are asylum seekers from Sri Lanka and although Mayon was born here in the UK, he was also classed as an asylum seeker.

“He applied for citizenship at the age of seven and again in 2020.

“While we can’t say for sure whether all of our collective pleas on social media helped, we’d like to think that the outpouring of positive thoughts and support from our and the greater karate community played a part.

‘Thank you to everyone who shared, tweeted and showed support - this truly shows the strength of our karate family.”