London, Feb 27 (IANS): A woman living in the UK who had been married to a British man for 27 years has been forcibly removed from the country, a media report said on Monday.

Irene Clennell, who made headlines when she was placed in immigration detention, was deported to Singapore on Sunday, the Guardian reported.

Clennell first arrived in London in 1988 and married John, a British man, two years later. They settled in County Durham and had two children.

Her sister-in-law Angela confirmed Clennell had been deported. She said she had been subject to "insensitive and unfair government rules" and that Irene's husband, her brother, was seriously ill.

She told the Guardian: "It's outrageous what has happened. I'm appalled by it especially doing it on a Sunday so you can't contact anyone to try and stop it happening.

"I made numerous phone calls to immigration solicitors... I feel sick about the whole situation."

She said her sister-in-law only had 12 pounds in her pocket but a fellow Singaporean made contact with the family and offered her a place to stay for two weeks.

A Go Fund Me page to raise money for her legal fees passed 8,000 pounds after the news broke that she had been deported

The UK government's spousal visa system requires the British partner to prove earnings of at least 18,600 pounds and the couple being able to show long stretches of uninterrupted time living in the UK.

Her last visitor visa expired last year and she was sent to a detention centre in Scotland after a routine appointment with immigration service in mid-January.