A young Armenian family face being deported after they were seized from their St George home in a dawn raid.

Single mum Anna Vardanyan, 33, and her children Mariam, 16, Norik, 12, and Gayana, eight, were taken away by 10 police officers and immigration officials at 6am yesterday morning.

The family, who have lived in Bristol since 2002, were not arrested but were taken to Trinity Road police station.

They were then transported to Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire, from where they are due to be deported on Friday.

The UK Border Agency says the Vardanyans are living in the country illegally after their claim for asylum was turned down and subsequent appeals rejected.

But the family's solicitors have taken out an emergency court injunction to block their removal. They are also in the process of lodging a judicial review and an appeal to re-examine the case.

Last night friends and supporters of the Vardanyans gathered outside Trinity Road police station to protest.

The family are being championed by Paulette North, a teacher at the City Academy and a member of Bristol Defend The Asylum Seekers Campaign.

Ms North said: "This is just disgraceful. They are not criminals, and they are not here illegally as their case is still live.

"We don't feel that the courts have considered all the factors in their claim, and we have presented new evidence relating to the safety of the family if they were to be deported."

Ms North rushed to the police station when she heard the family had been detained.

She said: "It is terrible. They weren't up, they weren't washed, and the children were terribly upset and were shaking and screaming."

Ms Vardanyan's eldest children are pupils at City Academy in Lawrence Hill.

Her youngest, Gayana, was just two months old when she came to England, and is a pupil at Summerhill Junior School in St George.

In May last year the family went through a similar experience when they were held for five days at an immigration centre at Gatwick airport.

In December Ms Vardanyan's son Norik addressed politicians and councillors during a conference at his school on the plight of children in detention centres.

Ray Priest, the academy's principal, said that more than 150 of his 1,300 students were asylum seekers or refugees.

He said: "These are lovely children who are doing so well at school."

He added: "The thing that surprises me most is the suddenness and the Draconian approach to it."

Mariam's school friends also rallied around in support.

Nzinga Williams, 16, said: "I think it is unfair because Mariam has been here for ages."

Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, said she would be contacting the Home Office about the situation.

She said: "We are doing all we can to help the Vardanyan family and are working with their solicitors to stay the removal until further representations have been looked at."

A spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency said the family had been detained under immigration laws as they had no legal status in the UK.

Jane Farleigh said: "In cases like this, both the UK Border Agency and the courts will have considered all the evidence.

"Our decision not to grant asylum was scrutinised by an independent immigration judge who upheld our position.

"Where the courts decide people have no right to remain because they do not need our protection, we would much rather that they accept this and leave voluntarily.

"Sadly, some people refuse to leave and the only option is to remove them.

"We would not remove anyone who was at risk of persecution or harm."