The deputy Prime Minister has cleared the way for the Eastern Daily Press to fly a badly injured African boy to Norfolk for vital surgery.

The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital had already agreed to waive treatment charges for ten-year-old Issa Kamara.

And all that remained was for bureaucratic red-tape to be removed to allow him to enter the country.

The EDP has been fighting to organise the trip after the case captured readers’ attention.

Issa suffered horrendous injuries when rebel fighters in his native Sierra Leone took him captive and held him over a fire for fun.

Hopes of treating his horrific burns were raised when the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital agreed to waive medical charges and surgeons offered to operate for free on humanitarian grounds – and local people waiting for similar treatment will not be affected.

The EDP had agreed to fund flight and housing costs for Issa and his English-speaking nurse and the boy was due to arrive next month.

But Whitehall bureaucrats insisted the youngster could not receive free treatment as he wasn’t a UK citizen.

Norfolk MPs from all parties reacted angrily, vowing to take a delegation to lobby Health Minister Alan Milburn.

John Prescott has now intervened personally after hearing that moves to bring Issa into the UK were being delayed by officialdom.

The Deputy Prime Minister, this week standing in for Tony Blair, gave an assurance that a way forward would be found as soon as possible.

EDP editor Peter Franzen welcomed the announcement and said: “This is a victory for common sense.

“I think we have got to thank John Prescott for his intervention. We are delighted that he has found a way through the red tape.”

The EDP stories highlighting Issa’s plight have generated massive interest. The story has been followed-up by all the major television and radio stations yesterday, as well as the Jimmy Young Programme on Radio 2.

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