North Ferriby hotel asylum seekers praise 'freedom' of England

Mohammed, from Afghanistan, says he feels he can speak more freely in the UK

Asylum seekers who have lived in an East Yorkshire hotel for the past year have said they feel safer living in the UK than where they came from.

North Ferriby's Humber View hotel opened for asylum seekers in November 2022 after an attempt by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to block it.

The four-star hotel has space for about 100 single men.

Mohammed, who moved from Afghanistan, told the BBC: "England is better and we have freedom. We can speak free."

Since arriving in East Yorkshire, Mohammed said he had learned some English, adding that he felt he and his fellow asylum seekers could "talk and walk free" in their new home.

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With the help of a smart phone translation app, another man, who said he was originally from Syria, told the BBC he had been in East Yorkshire for 10 days.

He confirmed in Arabic that he arrived in England by inflatable boat.

The journey had been frightening, but he said he felt "safe" in North Ferriby and wanted "to be allowed to live in England".

The Humber View hotel in North Ferriby was opened to asylum seekers in November last year

The Humber View hotel began receiving asylum seekers in November 2022.

Before that, East Riding of Yorkshire Council had taken out an injunction to try to block the Home Office from taking over the four-star hotel, but that attempt failed.

Some local residents had feared crime would rise in the area once asylum seekers moved in to the hotel, but this week police revealed that crime had actually fallen slightly in the area in the past 12 months.

Richard Trevithick, who lives locally, said the asylum seekers had not caused any problems, but added that "unfortunately there's not a lot for them to do".

Sally-Ann Leighton said the asylum seekers she had met in the North Ferriby area were "lovely"

Meanwhile, Sally-Ann Leighton, who lives in North Ferriby, said several asylum seekers had recently helped her carry her heavy shopping back home.

"The ones I've met are lovely," she said.

Brian Davison, who often walks his dogs through the hotel grounds and who said his son lived next door to the hotel, said the village had remained peaceful since the men arrived.

He criticised the government's proposal, which was recently ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying the African country was being treated as a "dumping ground".

Mohammed Saud supports the government plan for sending asylum seekers to Rwanda

However, Mohammed Saud, a chef at a new restaurant in the North Ferriby area, voiced concern about asylum seekers living at the Humber View.

Mr Saud, who came from India in 1997, said he did not welcome asylum seekers and supported the government's Rwanda plan.

The government has said it planned to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers, which costs taxpayers around £8m a day.