Colchester asylum seekers' move to Bibby Stockholm delayed

Three men were taken from the hotel in a coach but one was later brought back

Only two of 11 asylum seekers due to be moved from a hotel have left following intervention by a migrant and refugee support group.

Three men from the hotel in Colchester boarded a coach to Bibby Stockholm, a migrant accommodation barge in Dorset.

However, one was later driven back to the hotel due to health conditions, according to Refugee, Asylum Seeker and Migrant Action (RAMA).

The Home Office said it did not comment on the movement of asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers living at a Colchester hotel are being sent to Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset

The Colchester hotel, which the BBC is not naming, is one of the eight in the East of England expected to stop housing asylum seekers by January.

Currently, 112 refugees are living there.

Maria Wilby, director of RAMA, said: "People have started to get letters telling them that they will be moved on to different accommodation.

"Last week several people were given notice that they would be moving to the Bibby Stockholm."

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RAMA won a reprieve for several asylum seekers that has prevented them from being moved to the barge, moored off Portland, but it is not yet known where the remaining asylum seekers will be moved to when the hotel closes on 12 December.

Ms Wilby said the man driven back to the hotel "had health conditions that should preclude him being moved to such an isolated spot".

Maria Wilby, director of RAMA, said the man who returned to the hotel had health conditions that prevented him being housed on the barge

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "The Bibby Stockholm is part of the government's pledge to reduce the use of expensive hotels.

"Accommodation is offered to asylum seekers on a no-choice basis, and any asylum seeker who refuses accommodation may have their government support withdrawn".