A DEAF Gurkha veteran has been reunited with his daughter as 10 months of heartbreaking separation and an emotional immigration battle ended in victory.

Joyous Prem Bahadur Sunwar, 74, a retired colour sergeant who served 18 years in the British Army and lost his hearing due to arms fire in 1965 during the Indonesian-Malaysia conflict, welcomed his daughter, Pushpa, to Reading this week.

He said through an interpreter: "My dream has come true."

Pushpa, 24, will care for her frail dad, who is incapable of performing the most basic tasks without help, and she also hopes to find work and continue her studying.

On arrival, she was presented with a Nepalese ceremonial khada scarf, and said: "I am feeling so very, very happy and looking forward to our future together."

The Chronicle reported exclusively earlier this year how the Government had stopped Pushpa coming to Britain only to see its decision overturned at appeal because it breached article eight of Human Rights Act - respect for family life.

But like countless other retired Gurkhas, Mr Sunwar's fight for justice continues. He receives around £60-a-week from his Army pension, a sum significantly lower than British veterans of equivalent rank and years of service, and said: "All we are asking for is compassion and equality."

Gyanraj Rai, a former sergeant major and now Reading Buses driver, said: "He once said he would've been lucky if he'd been killed in the war because those who were have not had to suffer. I'm so happy he now has family here to support him but we're still fighting the Nepalese and British governments for pensions and equal rights."

Mr Sunwar, who will continue to live with fellow veteran Dirga Sunwar (no relation) in Oxford Road, also suffers from chronic obstructive airways disease, bilateral osteoarthritis, lumbar spondylosis and senile dementia.

He came to Britain in July last year after the 2009 High Court ruling allowing Gurkhas who retired before 1997 to settle here along with any of their children under 18.

Others who gathered to welcome Puspha included former Reading mayor Cllr Peter Beard, Reading Buses chief executive, James Freeman, who employs around 10 of the former Nepalese soldiers, and representatives of the Forgotten British Gurkha and United British Gurkha Ex-Servicemen's Association.