Residents of a town said they do not feel safe after they were told in a heated meeting that around 400 asylum seekers are currently living there. Around 80 residents packed themselves into a small hall for a Sandiacre Parish Council meeting to express their fears over a situation which they said was “dangerous” and “getting out of control”.
Residents expressed deep concern over claims that “gangs” of male asylum seekers were forming and intimidating both adults and children in the town, as reported by Derbyshire Live. It was also alleged that a group of asylum seekers had caused a disturbance at a local dentist surgery and were seen using parks and woods in the area as toilets.
The lengthy meeting was held just days after it was reported that the Home Office had taken over the four-star Novotel hotel in Bostocks Lane to accommodate asylum seekers amid the current crisis situation on UK borders. It is understood that as well as the Novotel hotel, the nearby Best Western Nottingham Derby hotel on Bostocks Lane, which links Long Eaton and Sandiacre, has been closed for around two years for the same reason.
