Bibby Stockholm: First 50 migrants to arrive on barge in coming days

The 222-bedroom, three-storey vessel will house about 500 migrants

The first 50 asylum seekers are expected to arrive on the Bibby Stockholm barge in the coming days.

A Whitehall source has confirmed the Home Office is expecting to send the group to Portland, Dorset, on Tuesday.

Numbers are due to rise gradually over the coming months, with the vessel eventually holding about 500 men.

It comes after protests at Portland Port about the barge, designed to reduce the use of hotels for people waiting on asylum claims.

The barge docked in Portland on 17 July, where residents have been objecting over concerns for the impact on local services like healthcare.

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Bibby Stockholm is expected to remain in Portland for 18 months and will be the first time migrants have been housed in a berthed vessel in the UK.

Protesters gathered outside Portland Port as the barge docked on Tuesday morning

The government said it needed to reduce the cost of housing asylum seekers as there are currently about 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels across the UK, costing the taxpayer about £6m a day.

Repair work meant the initial arrival of asylum seekers had to be delayed, but a source confirmed the first arrivals were expected next week.

A Home Office spokeswoman added: "The Bibby Stockholm has completed a statutory inspection and refurbishment and is now berthing in Portland.

"The welfare of those in our care is of the utmost priority and the barge is now undergoing final preparations to ensure it complies with all appropriate regulations before the arrival of the first asylum seekers in the coming weeks."