Australian woman is left stranded after travelling to the UK to say her final farewell to her dying mother before she lost her battle with cancer

  • British ex-pat now living in Sydney is stranded in England after her mother died
  • Martez Thorneycroft returned to UK after her mother was diagnosed with cancer
  • Just two weeks after her mother died the borders were closed due to COVID-19
  • Her long-time partner is also stranded in Glasgow under similar circumstances 
A British ex-pat living in Australia for the past seven years has found herself stranded after returning to the UK to farewell her dying mother. 
Sydney woman Martez Thorneycroft, 30, returned to Coventry to be with her mother Jontelle Thorneycroft, 47, as she lost her battle with a brain tumour.
Miss Thorneycroft was due to return on April 13 but the borders were closed two weeks after her mother's funeral, meaning she was left stranded in the UK. 

Sydney woman and British ex-pat Martez Thorneycroft is stranded in the UK after returning home to farewell her dying mother Jontelle (pictured together with her siblings)
She applied for a travel exemption to return to Australia on compassionate grounds but they were repeatedly rejected, the Coventry Telegraph reported. 
'I don’t only feel like I am grieving for the loss of my mother, I feel like I have lost my whole life as I knew it,' Miss Thorneycroft said. 
Her long-time partner Adam Emmerson is also stranded in the UK after returning to Scotland after the death of his own mother. 
Miss Thorneycroft said the impact of her and Mr Emmerson both being stranded and recently losing their mothers was taking a heavy toll on their mental health.
She said ex-pats stranded overseas haven't been addressed as a group despite being contributing members of Australian society. 
'We pay tax, we contribute to the Australian economy and have paid thousands for our work visas yet here we are hanging on a limb for even so much as a mention or thought,' she said. 
'The mandatory fourteen-day quarantine is a tested and proven way to eliminate any COVID-19 risk to Australian life so I cannot for the life of me understand why we can we not come home.'
Miss Thorneycroft (pictured at her mother's grave with her siblings) was due to return to Australia in April but the borders closed shortly after her mother's funeral
Miss Thorneycroft (pictured at her mother's grave with her siblings) was due to return to Australia in April but the borders closed shortly after her mother's funeral
The stranded Miss Thorneycroft took to social media on Wednesday to further vent her frustration at the situation.  
'We are now both locked out of our home for the last seven years ... as their boarders are closed due to COVID-19,' she wrote.
'Each appeal on compassionate and compelling grounds has to date been denied with no information as to why we don’t meet the criteria. 
'We want to come home we want to be allowed to continue our lives and be able to grieve without additional stress and trauma.'
A spokesperson for the Australian Border Force told Daily Mail Australia travel exemptions were balanced against the the health risks posed to the community.  
'These decisions are not taken lightly, but the Government’s priority is to protect the Australian community against the COVID-19 pandemic,' the spokesperson said.
'The current travel restrictions have been implemented on the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee as two thirds of Australia’s coronavirus cases had been sourced from overseas during the pandemic.'
Miss Thorneycroft (pictured) said she applied for a travel exemption on compassionate grounds but her application has been repeatedly rejected
Miss Thorneycroft (pictured) said she applied for a travel exemption on compassionate grounds but her application has been repeatedly rejected

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