A trio of failed asylum seekers ended their 37-day hunger strike in Croydon this morning after being granted a second chance to stay in the UK.

Former Iranian wrestling champion Keyvan Bahariz, 30, students Mehran Meyari, 19, and his 17-year-old brother Mahyar had spent weeks living on just water in a tent on Wellesley Road, within metres of the UK Border Agency(UKBA) headquarters at Lunar House.

But the three men halted their protest this morning after being granted permission to reapply for asylum based on new evidence of abuses in Iran.

Mr Bahariz, who bears scars on his back from a savage beating at the hands of the Iranian authorities, said he and his countrymen feared being killed by the Government if they returned to their homes in the capital Tehran.

Mahyar Meyari and Mr Bahariz sewed their mouths closed after being refused asylum by the UKBA, to raise awareness of the lack of free speech and human rights in their homeland.

The trio had to be treated by paramedics several times since starting the strike on April 15 due to their weakened states, but they refused to all go to hospital over fears police would try to move their tent from the pavement.

The protesters’ three fellow refugees Kiarash Bahari, Morteza Bayat and Ahmad Sadeghi Pour have been performing a similar protest in Islington.