- Migrants arrive in Longford, West London, and are transferred to houses
- Temporarily living in homes bought by hotel owners after prices dropped
- It followed fears village could be demolished for third Heathrow runway
- Migrants arriving from Iran, Eritrea, Sudan and Syria via Calais ‘Jungle’
- See our full coverage of the European migrant crisis
Mark Duell for MailOnline
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An English village has been left ‘overwhelmed’ by asylum seekers, residents complained last night.
Longford in West London is fast becoming a ‘transit camp’ for migrants from Calais – with dozens arriving on coaches every day and being transferred to houses, according to locals.
The migrants are temporarily living in homes bought by hotel owners, after property prices fell over concerns that the village could be demolished for London Heathrow Airport’s third runway.
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New arrivals: Longford in West London is fast becoming a ‘transit camp’ for migrants from Calais, locals claim
Finding a home: Dozens of migrants are arriving on coaches and being transferred to houses, residents say
Moving in: The migrants are temporarily living in homes bought by hotel owners after property prices fell
Drop-off: A group of men pile out of a coach which took them to the Heathrow Lodge Hotel, Longford
The properties are being rented out to the Home Office for asylum seekers, with rooms available for £30 per person – or less if sharing, according to an investigation by BBC Inside Out London.
Ray, 85, who lost his wife four years ago and has lived in the village for 50 years, said: ‘I’ve got them either side of me. So they meet and they have conversations in the middle of my front garden.’
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He added: ‘We don’t know where they’ve come from, we don’t what they are, and we’re living next door to them – albeit they might be very nice people.’
The village – where homes face demolition if a third runway is built for the world’s second busiest airport – dates back to the 14th century and features several listed buildings.
Migrants arriving there are said to have come from countries including Iran, Eritrea and Syria – with many having passed through the ‘Jungle’ in Calais, where about 4,000 people camp.
Concern: Ray, 85, who lost his wife four years ago and has lived there for 50 years, said of the migrants: ‘I’ve got them either side of me. So they meet and they have conversations in the middle of my front garden’
Concern: The resident said of the migrants: ‘We don’t know where they’ve come from, we don’t what they are’
Living in Britain: A Pakistan-born pub owner in the London village said the migrants were damaging his sales
Waving for the cameras: The Home Office said all asylum applications are considered on ‘individual merit’
One of them, Mogdad from Sudan, admitted he had paid a trafficker €500 (£370) in Calais to get into Britain, telling the BBC: ‘I have no choice. I have to get away from death.’
But Pakistan-born Rana Saif, 55, who runs the pub opposite the hostel where refugees are housed before being sent to other houses in the local area, said that he is ready to leave because it has wrecked his business.
He added: ‘In March 2015 I had just £80 in my account because of the impact on the business. It’s usually all young men. Nobody wants to come to the pub because of these young people standing around outside. When there are eight or 12 people they can look very intimidating.
Arrivals: A coach was seen dropping off another group of migrants outside the Heathrow Lodge Hotel
New residents: A second bus full of migrants arrived in the village, dropping them off at the same hotel
Shortly after being dropped off by bus, a group of men sit on the side of the road outside the Longford hotel
‘We used to get a lot of mothers and families visiting the village. They have stopped coming because they feel threatened. They will be asking you in the street for a cigarette, or to top up their phones.
‘I have offered tea to a family in the past, but I cannot keep giving people things for free. The manager needs to provide these things himself.’
Mr Saif also told the BBC: ‘I am going to move from here, as soon as. It was good before the immigrants came.’
A local hotel manager declined to comment, but he is said to have told villagers during a recent meeting that in future a maximum of 40 asylum seekers would be staying at any point.
On the scene: Police patrolling Longford village following yesterday’s investigation by a BBC programme
Sitting outside: Migrants arriving in Longford are said to have come from countries including Iran and Eritrea
Near the airport: One of the migrants admitted he had paid a trafficker €500 (£370) in Calais to get into Britain
Accommodation: Among the properties in Longford being used by the migrants is the Heathrow Lodge Hotel
A man named only as Kishan (left), who is manager of the Heathrow Lodge Hotel, located in Longford (right)
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need it, and we are committed to providing safe and secure accommodation while cases are considered.
‘Decisions on the use of hotel accommodation, including which premises are used, are made by individual contractors who bear the cost.
‘We have made clear to our providers that the use of hotels is only ever acceptable as a short-term contingency measure. We are taking steps with providers to ensure that this is the case.’
She told MailOnline today that all applications for asylum are ‘considered on their individual merits’, and that refuge will be given to those who have a ‘genuine need for protection’, or a ‘well-founded fear of persecution’.
The spokesman added that people who are found not to require protection in Britain are expected to leave the country voluntarily – and the Home Office will ‘enforce their departure’ if they try to stay.
Longford, which had a village conservation area designated in 1988, is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon and sits on the Berkshire border, next to the River Colne and M25 and M4 motorways.
Historic: The village of Longford dates back to the 14th century and features several listed buildings
Notice board: The West London area of Longford had a village conservation area designated in 1988
Flight path: Homes in Longford face demolition if a third runway is built for the nearby London Heathrow Airport
How it used to look: A view of The White Horse pub in Longford, taken more than six decades ago in 1954
Hillingdon Council said it received three complaints earlier this year, and had looked into claims rooms were being overcrowded – and put in additional licensing arrangements for the hotel.
The sprawling Calais migrant camp known as the ‘Jungle’ has grown rapidly to now house more than 4,000 people – rising by around 1,000 since June and almost tripling since September 2014.
Many of its inhabitants use the camp as a springboard to reach the UK by sneaking onto lorries and Eurotunnel trains or simply walking across the underground passageway.
The once-desert area, home to 800 in 2009, has been transformed into a small town with its own mosques, shops that sell food and cigarettes, restaurants and even a bicycle repair shop.
Thousands set up tents or slept rough in the ‘Jungle’ – where the entrance is now guarded by barbed wire, armed police and dogs – with an ultimate goal of starting a new life in Britain.
Location: Longford is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon and sits on the Berkshire border
Campsite: Many of the migrants arriving in the village are said to have passed through the ‘Jungle’ in Calais
They began sneaking onto trucks and lorries crossing the English Channel in July but when security was stepped up, hundreds stormed the tunnel every night to walk the 31 miles to Britain.
At least 13 migrants have died trying to cross the tunnel by foot in recent months. Eurotunnel drivers say they are struggling to do their jobs because they live in constant fear of killing another migrant.
Home Secretary Theresa May warned last week of the perils of mass migration – saying the huge foreign influx was not in the national interest and led to lower wages and the loss of British jobs.
Based on the current influx, the UK needs to build 210,000 homes a year and find 900,000 extra school places by 2024.
Last month a study revealed Britain experienced the third largest increase in migrants of any major nation last year, with international migration to the UK in 2014 hitting 558,800.
This was a 24 per cent increase on 2013, with only Israel and the Czech Republic seeing bigger rises.
Many countries are expecting a large increase in migrants this year following the humanitarian crisis in Syria, with the UK pledging to accept up to 20,000 of them over the next five years.
It was revealed last month that Kent County Council was caring for 720 unaccompanied children who have crossed the English Channel to Dover – a rise from 630 at the start of August.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said 330,000 migrants arrived by sea in Europe in the first eight months of 2015, including 210,000 in Greece and 120,000 in Italy.
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