UK Towns Hosting Asylum Seekers Report Rising Safety Concerns Among Residents

Locals in Britain’s asylum seeker hotspots have complained of feeling scared for their safety and ‘taken advantage of’ by the government. 

Each asylum seeker who lodges a claim for protection is sent to a different part of the UK under the Home Office’s ‘dispersal policy’. 

Though the system aims to promote fairness, certain towns and cities have received a higher proportion of asylum seekers relative to their population than others.

These include Hartlepool, Swansea, and Coventry, where locals have expressed concerns about the adverse impacts of the influx, such as strain on local services.

They also complained on the impact on housing availability – even if many asylum seekers stay in hotels at a cost of £5.5million every day. 

According to data from the House of Commons Library, by the end of September 2024, there were 109,024 asylum seekers being accommodated across the UK.

While Hillingdon in West London houses the most asylum seekers per head of any UK local authority – 97 per 10,000 people – Hartlepool is tenth on the list with 49. 

Residents of the seaside town in County Durham are still reeling from the murder of 70-year-old Terence Carney in October 2023 at the hands of Moroccan asylum seeker Ahmed Alid.

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The Islamist extremist was found guilty of murder and the attempted murder of his housemate, Javed Nouri, who he had attacked before Mr Carney.

He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 44 years and 152 days.

Kayleigh Courtney, 33, who is unemployed, told MailOnline: ‘We knew Terrance’s child. He should have felt safe in his community.

‘It’s a really scary world and causes a lot of friction in the community.’

Lauren Green, 33, a carer, also mentioned the incident before complaining that asylum seekers were being ‘prioritised’. 

‘You see on the news that PIP is being cut and pensioners are suffering but they are being prioritised for housing in Hartlepool,’ she said. 

‘It’s hard to get appointments for the doctor and dentist.

‘Many of them don’t speak English or chat in another language when you are in public, which can feel isolating.’

Other locals also spoke of services being overwhelmed – an issue they believe has been exacerbated by the newcomers.  

Devon Kenny, 60, a former landlord said: ‘A lot of homes are being turned into HMO’s (house in multiple occupation) to accommodate them. 

‘We are already a deprived town. The council doesn’t do anything for us and it seems as though we are paying for their services. 

‘I waited for two years to get into a bed sit. It’s really hard to get a doctor appointment due to the added strain of having more people in the town.

‘All of the homes are full, it’s winding locals up. People are unhappy with the situation, it’s going downhill.

One man, who asked not to be named, warned of the risks of placing asylum seekers into areas that were already struggling. 

‘They are putting asylum seekers in run-down areas but that drains resources and makes the area more run down,’ he said. 

‘We don’t have the infrastructure to cope with that many people. It feels as though local people are getting pushed out of the town.’

In Wales’ second city of Swansea, some traders at the local market can trace their family’s involvement back six generations. 

They work hard for long hours and in today’s economic climate it’s a struggle.

But while they continue to serve customers with the local speciality of cockles and lava bread, many are angry at what they are seeing. 

One market stall worker, a 69-year-old woman who has to work because she can’t manage on her state pension, said: ‘I’ve seen up to 30 men sitting outside Costa, I find it intimidating.

‘Some of them smoke, all of them have top-of-the-range mobile phones, they are dressed well and they sit there most of the day.

‘They don’t contribute by working or paying taxes, they don’t seem to be here with families. They are young men taking what we give them while our own people are going without.

‘We don’t need more of the same coming to Swansea, I have sympathy with genuine asylum seekers but we are being taken advantage of.’

There are 32.6 asylum seekers per 10,000 people in Swansea, which is relatively high compared to the UK average. 

Asylum seekers are usually not allowed to work while their claim is being considered, although they can take voluntary roles.  

Another market stall holder, a 55-year-old grandmother who did not want to be named, said: ‘I arrive early in the morning and I can’t get in because homeless people are sleeping in the doorways.

‘That’s because instead of housing the homeless, properties are going to asylum seekers who’ve only been in the country for five minutes.

‘We are getting more and people have had enough of it.’

Indian restaurant worker Mohammed Ali, 51, whose family came to Swansea from Bangladesh 80 years ago, says asylum seekers in Wales’ second city are already causing ‘chaos’.

The father-of-three told Mail Online: ‘Most of them are not telling the truth, they say that if they are sent back home they will be killed. But in 80 per cent of cases it is a lie.

‘There are some worthy cases but not a lot.’

Retired construction worker Peter Cort, 75, on a shopping trip with his wife and their two Jack Russell Molly and Pip, argued that local people should come before asylum seekers.

He said: ‘They arrive here and get a house and all the white goods to get them started but what about our own people who are struggling? They should be the priority.

‘We don’t have the infrastructure to take more asylum seekers in Swansea. Or hospitals and doctors’ surgeries are overrun. It’s terrible, we can’t cope.’

Retired NHS nurse Celia Hillman, 72, a mother and grandmother, said: ‘I don’t want more asylum seekers here, there’s not enough housing for people already in Swansea. We can’t take any more, we are a small island, we’re not like the bigger places.

‘We can’t afford it. The NHS is falling apart, councils are struggling to maintain the place and the roads and everything but they are having to accommodate even more people.’

Stephen Morgan, 56, a single man, who works in Poundland, said: ‘Letting a small amount in is ok but we are overcrowded, especially the hospitals. It affects everything, I’m against more asylum seekers coming here.’

But Tom Loudon, 31, and his pregnant partner Emma Foster, 27, were ready to welcome more asylum seekers. 

Mr Loudon, a carer, said: ‘If we can offer people asylum for protection then we should have them here, absolutely. And they should be treated fairly.

‘It doesn’t affect my everyday life, we can cope. The council is funded by the central government who makes these rules and has to pay more for people coming here as asylum seekers. 

‘For me, Keir Starmer is a hypocrite who has caused so many problems since he became Prime Minister.’

Three hours’ drive away in Coventry, local women Louse and Dee revealed they were living in temporary accommodation and claimed more asylum seekers would make the housing shortage worse.  

Louise, 37, said: ‘I’m currently homeless. The houses go to the asylum seekers rather than the actual homeless.

‘I’m in a shared accommodation and I am technically homeless. I think the government should be looking after their own before helping other people.

‘I don’t think the city can handle the amount of people coming in.’

Dee, 38, said she had to live separately from her husband just to find a bed to sleep in and blasted the government.

‘I think it’s ridiculous that asylum seekers can come over here and get housed but my husband, who has paid taxes his whole life, is on the street.

‘I’m homeless too, we’ve had to separate so that one of us can get somewhere to sleep.

‘I don’t think we can handle the numbers, we can’t house the people who are from this city.  

‘If they come over here and work and pay into the system, fair play to them. I know diverse people who I call my family. But the fact is, we need to help our own.’

Coventry has the fifth highest number of supported asylum seekers out of any local authority in Britain per 10,000 people (60) – and locals say they are feeling the strain. 

Zain Khan, owner of Phone Matters in the city centre, said asylum seekers being unable to work while their applications are processed was an issue. 

The 28-year-old, who moved to the UK from Pakistan four years ago, said: ‘You are a good country allowing asylum seekers to come here, but just ask them to work.

‘When I see people getting money for free from my taxes, it is not on. If they work, or are disabled, then fair enough.’ 

But other people’s options were more positive. 

Rebecca Howland, 53, said she had ‘not noticed any problems’ caused by asylum seekers and said Coventry was a ‘pleasant enough’ place to live.

‘There are people here who have their own opinions here, some quite negative, but everywhere has problems, not just here,’ she said. 

Meanwhile, Xander Green, a politics student, argued that most asylum seekers were victims of tragic circumstances and they shouldn’t be judged. 

The 21-year-old said: ‘I think there’s a lot of people who view migrants negatively, I think I noticed it more when I went to uni. 

‘People who talk about migrants often grew up in places where they don’t have that first-hand interaction with diversity. 

‘But we don’t have any problems, it’s a diverse place and we all enjoy it.’

MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for comment.