RAF base housing hundreds of migrants infested with rats and leaking sewage

It accommodates up to 1,245 male migrants who have made the perilous journey across the Channel on small boats.

The base is the main military location used by the Government to house small boat migrants.

Video shows rats crawling under portacabins as well as overflowing urinals.

It also shows toilets blocked up while there is rubbish scattered on the floor of bedrooms and storerooms.

Empty beer cans and bottles can be seen at the former Ministry of Defence site which is being run by Clearsprings Ready Homes on behalf of the Home Office.

It is supposed to be a strict “no alcohol zone” where they state “we’ll continue to ensure that the no alcohol rule is enforced”.

The footage comes after a report found asylum seekers were housed in overcrowded conditions with rodent outbreaks inside some hotels in the South of England.

A security guard, who worked at the military base, said there were “rats as big as cats”.

They added that the problem worsened after the capacity rose to 1,240 earlier this year.

The iPaper was told: “They are literally coming into your buildings. They’re in the rafters”.

“Every day as you’re walking from one location to another, they’re running across you. They were huge,” the security guard added.

They further said rats were seen in rubbish bins and “gave birth in there”.

“We got so used to that it just became the norm,” the security guard said.

The iPaper further reported that a source said there was “a lot of these rats” which were “underneath the prefabs”.

“They live under the portacabins. It’s pretty bad. Some of them are pretty big, as big as a coke bottle,” they added.

“It’s not healthy for anyone. If there’s food on the floor, these rats are scavengers and they are going to pick up whatever they can get.”

At least three guards were let go from the site after a mass walkout took place last month.

Sir Keir Starmer said MDP Wethersfield must be closed before the General Election.

However, the Government has increased the number of military bases used to house asylum seekers - to slash the cost of hotel accommodation.

A report by the Home Affairs Committee earlier this year found costs from hotel contracts from 2019 to 2029 would rise from £4.5billion to £15.3billion.

In a bid to close asylum hotels by 2029, military sites have been used to house migrants.

A further 900 migrants are set to be housed at Crowborough army training camp in East Sussex and Cameron Barracks in Inverness.

MPs have said migrants could stay at temporary prefabricated buildings, similar to those used at Wethersfield.

However, the footage raises concerns about the conditions at ex-military bases.

Migrants protests after an outbreak of scabies in 2023 as medics warned of suicidal thoughts and severe psychological distress.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “All sites comply with safety, security, health and wellbeing standards. Procedures are in place to fix maintenance and safety issues quickly.”