A former Peebles man who planned to fly his family over from Hong Kong to celebrate this year’s Beltane Festival has had his dream holiday shattered by UK immigration.

Officials have turned down a visa request by Graham Hamilton and his family for their Filipina domestic helper Tes to join them on their trip.

Graham has called the decision “disgraceful and discriminatory” and vowed launched a campaign to 'get Tes to the Beltane'.

He claimed immigration officers had no justifiable reason to reject the visa bid other than thinking “all Filipinos will run away because they are less privileged”.

And he has called for the help of the good people of Peebles, with their motto ‘Contra Nando Incrementum’ which means 'Against the stream they multiply'.

Graham, a former pilot who grew up in Peebles, has been living and working in Hong Kong for five years at Heliservices, a helicopter company.

He and his wife Jacqui, along with their twin boys Lachlan and Braedan, wanted to bring their Tes with them as a thank you for all of her hard work and dedication.

The Hamilton family have already spent £1,000 on flights and accommodation for their valued employee, who they consider to be a member of their family.

They say their sons will be devastated if Tes, who is "like a second mother to them", is not allowed to accompany them on their trip to Scotland.

Graham said he wholeheartedly trusts Tes with his two children’s lives every day, and therefore he has no doubts that she will return to the Hong Kong with this family. “Having a helper is a foreign concept to many, but when you live in a country and have no family to help, you need someone to look after the kids and we are extremely lucky to have found such a wonderful caring person in Tes.”

Furious Graham claims the system is a “big scam by the broke UK Government” to force people to buy a work visa which is far more costly.

He added: “As we are in serviced accommodation in Peebles, there is no need for her to perform any of her domestic tasks and as myself and my wife are on holiday, we will be looking after the boys so there is no need for her to do that either.

“If we really needed additional help during the trip, we could have hired someone locally which would have been a lot cheaper than the costs of bringing Tes to join us on the trip. The Immigration Department’s position simply doesn’t make sense.”

The family say that immigration have ignored the fact that Tes joined the family on holiday in Southern Africa last year and didn’t make a run for it.

Graham added: “In addition to this, they have said she provided no information on personal and economic circumstances in Hong Kong. She has full board and lodging with us, detailed in an employment contract.

“Under Sections V4.3 and 4.4 of the UK immigration rules, it states that a visitor's visit may be sponsored by a third party as long as the third part provides a written undertaking to be responsible for the visitor and this was provided in my support letter to UK Visas and Immigration of May 1, so I really cannot understand how the application could be refused.”

The Hamilton family have written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as Scottish MPs and the UK Consul General in Hong Kong.

Graham said: “It is highly discriminatory and racist in my opinion and basically shows that if you are from a less privileged background, you are automatically considered to be dishonest and a risk to the UK. This is not the values and culture I believe represents Scotland and is a reflection of the wider UK culture xenophobia and racism.”

The former Peebles High pupil has also called on school friend Shona Haslam, leader of Scottish Borders Council in his plight.

She said: “I am working with David Mundell MP to see if we can find a solution to this issue for the family. He is giving us some valuable advice and has agreed to contact the Home Office and write a letter of support, as will I.”

A former member of Peebles Silver Band, Graham has great memories of his years celebrating the historic festival. Even while he was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, Graham marched with the band during the festival week.

Fondly remembered by most in the town as Hammy, in his heartfelt plea, he added: “Good folks of Peebles, please help to support me in getting Tes to the Beltane. Help Hammy.”

In a letter to Scottish MP David Mundell, Graham wrote: “As a fellow Borderer I am certain you will know about our great traditions of festivals and to make these as inclusive as possible and to welcome people from overseas into our community to enjoy and take part, especially when they come from less privileged backgrounds is what makes the Borders such a special place and is the essence of community spirit.”

The case has also been taken up by Graham with the Consul General in Hong Kong, Andrew Heyn. Writing to Mr Heyn he said: “As you are aware many domestic helpers are treated as second class citizens and discriminated against in Hong Kong, and I am shocked and saddened that she is also being discriminated against by our own Government with no proper substantiation or justification and in contradiction to their own criteria regarding third party sponsorship.”

Graham has great faith in the people of his former home town, and has taken to social media to ask for their help. He said: “I am hoping the Contra Nando Incrementum spirit will see the ‘toun’ rally round to help us, I’m really angry and disappointed about all of this and will stand to lose £1,500 if we can’t turn it around.”