Asylum hotel a risk to public safety, court told

Hundreds of protesters have attended demonstrations at The Bell Hotel during the summer

Housing asylum seekers at a hotel is causing an "unacceptable" risk to public safety, the High Court has been told.

Epping Forest District Council has applied for a temporary injunction to block asylum seekers from being housed at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.

Protests began outside the hotel last month and Essex Police said at one point up to 2,000 people were demonstrating near the hotel and 16 people have been charged with offences relating to the disturbances.

Philip Coppel KC, representing the authority at the Royal Courts of Justice, said: "The protests have unfortunately been attended by violence and disorder."

Mr Justice Eyre is hearing submissions from the hotel's owners into Friday afternoon and it is not clear at this stage when he will rule on the injunction.

The council lodged the application on Tuesday and asked that it take effect within 14 days in the event it was granted.

Mr Coppel added: "Epping Forest District Council comes to this court seeking an injunction because it has a very serious problem.

"There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of The Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers."

A High Court judge is expected to make a decision on an injunction applied for by Epping Forest District Council

Mr Coppel said that the defendant, the hotel's owner Somani Hotels Limited, "did not advise or notify the local planning authority" to seek their views on the use of the site.

"It was not until two months later, when Epping Forest received a complaint about the use, that the matter came to the planning department's attention," he continued.

Lawyers representing Somani Hotels told the court that an injunction would cause asylum seekers "hardship" and that the move would set "a dangerous precedent that protests justify planning injunctions".

Action has been staged at the hotel since a man living there was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Hadush Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and remains on remand in custody.

The Home Office previously told the BBC: "It would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing."