A destitute asylum seeker jumped to his death from a seven-storey building after being turned away from Croydon’s immigration centre.

Desperate Osman Rasul, 27, travelled more than 100 miles from Nottingham to Lunar House in Croydon to beg for help after he found out he had been refused legal aid for his new asylum claim because the charity providing the money had gone into administration.

But it is claimed when he was told he needed a lawyer, the father of two returned to Nottingham and leaped from the seventh floor of a tower block on July 25 at 7pm.

Mr Rasul arrived in Britain in 2001 and claimed asylum because he said his life was in danger because of the political situation in northern Iraq.

He was not allowed to work and had been sleeping on the streets, living on £20 a month and relying on charity from friends.

His first asylum claim failed and he was preparing a new one when the charity Refugee and Migrant Justice went into receivership and wrote to tell him they would be unable to provide him with any more help.

Homeless worker Harry Woolner told the Guardian: "He was frustrated that his case had not been progressed so he decided to go down to the Home Office in Croydon and ‘hand himself in’, saying, ‘Either send me home or help me’.

"He felt he was taking control at last. It was a brave thing to do. But when he got there they said ‘Who are you? We don’t know you. Get a solicitor’.

"In terms of his mental state it was too much to take.

"In London he stayed with friends some of the time but also slept rough and was not eating well. He was mentally and physically exhausted when he came back. We didn’t realise the severity of the situation."

Mr Woolner said the disturbed young father, who was estranged from his Polish wife living in Coventry, went for a bicycle ride on Sunday but never returned.

His wife Malgorzata Gajda, 30, thinks he tried to call her and the children on a private number just before he jumped off the building.

Mr Woolner is trying to raise money to send the body back to Iraq.

A UK Border Agency spokeswoman said: "Any death of this kind is a tragedy and our deepest sympathies are with Mr Rasul’s family and friends.

"We are working closely with Nottinghamshire Police while this matter is being investigated. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage."