Mark Simmonds to raise immigration with Eric Pickles

Mr Simmonds said there had been "a significant influx" of migrants

A Lincolnshire MP is to meet senior government ministers to discuss the effect of immigration on Boston.

Mark Simmonds, Conservative MP for Skegness and Boston, will raise residents' concerns with Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

A recent march protesting against the number of foreign workers in the town was postponed.

Mr Simmonds said the government needed to understand the pressures the rise in population had put on the community.

He said: "There has been a significant influx of economic migrants who are working particularly in the agricultural and horticultural sectors.

"We need to make sure that those who are in the Boston area legally and legitimately and are making a contribution are welcomed and those who are not are sent back from whence they came.

"It's quite complex to unravel all that."

Mr Simmonds will also meet Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in the next fortnight to ask for more financial support to cope with the rise in population.

He said: "We need to make sure the funding for the public sector services are actually in line with the population that is now in the Boston area and clearly that is not the case."

Last month Boston resident Dean Everitt agreed to postpone a march protesting against the arrival of an estimated 9,000 foreign workers in the town over the past few years.

After meeting with Mr Everitt, Boston Borough Council set up a task force to look at the issue.