Residents living in a leafy Essex town have been left fuming after a migrant hotel reopened in the area.
The Bell Hotel in Epping is housing asylum seekers yet again as Labour reopened the accommodation site after it had been closed by the last Conservative Government.
Two residents who live on the same street hotel alleged that in May 2022 her car was kicked by illegal migrants living at the site and that she and her family had been spat.
A retired mum said she herself no longer feels safe to walk out of her front door, telling The Daily Express she feels "totally" trapped.
The Bell Hotel
Google Maps
The former fire safety trainer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of "reprisals" from the hotel security staff, said: "My son was driving and I was next to him, and we came out [of the shared drive] and all of a sudden I felt a bump and they kicked our car."
The 61-year-old, who lives near the 79-room hotel, added: "We were spat at a few times."
When approached, the hotel's security staff refused to disclose to The Daily Express whether asylum seekers were living there.
However, both residents were adamant that the asylum seekers had come back to the hotel.
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Residents living near the Bell Hotel
Google Maps
An elderly neighbour added: "I can’t even begin to tell you the sort of anxiety we felt at these people just around us all the time… [with] just a barrier between us and our drive.
"I admit I don’t come in after dark. I wouldn’t have thought twice about it [in the past]."
Meanwhile, Victor Wigzell, 74 claimed he saw asylum seekers from the hotel shoplifting from the local Boots store in early 2024.
He said: "I used to see them go into Boots the chemist there and obviously they would grab the stuff and run out. I’ve seen it. I saw it happen. I was in Boots. I just thought well, you’re trying to help these people, some of them probably do need help."
Wigzell, a retired architectural model maker, added: “We don’t want it, we don’t need it, we shouldn’t have to suffer all that”.
Epping Forest MP Dr Neil Hudson also said: "When this hotel in Epping was being used in the past, I know that church groups and many residents provided crucial support for vulnerable people in the asylum system here, and that they continue to do so nearby. I want to thank them for all they do and continue to do.
"I have met with the Home Office about this decision and its implementation and sought assurances about the welfare of those being housed here, sought assurances for members of the local community with any concerns about this decision, and continue to urge the Government to work with local stakeholders and services to address this situation holistically, to provide support for all affected."
A Home Office spokesman said: "In Autumn 2023, there were more than 400 asylum hotels in use across the UK at a cost of almost £9million per day, and in the months before the election, the asylum backlog soared again as decision-making collapsed, placing the entire asylum system under unprecedented strain.
"That was the situation the government inherited but we have begun to restore order, with a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK."
