EXCLUSIVE: Terrified residents living opposite a base where the Home Office bussed in illegal migrants under cover of darkness fear strangers will ‘wander’ into gardens.
Locals have voiced their concern after migrants were bussed into the army base on Thursday morning (Image: Eddie Mitchell)
Terrified residents living opposite an army base where the Home Office bussed in illegal migrants under the cover of darkness have spoken out about their fears that strangers will “wander” into their gardens.
Phill Straker, 69, whose garden backs directly onto the Crowborough site, voiced his horror at the Government’s decision. He told the Daily Express: “They can just wander though, I’m very concerned. We back right onto it – now we’ve got years of potential access from strangers.”
The retired resident, whose driveway opens into the facility, blasted officials over their handling of the controversial move. He fumed: “There’s been a huge problem with lack of engagement. Nobody has explained anything to us. How dare they!”
The view of the base from above (Image: Eddie Mitchell)
Crowborough’s town centre (Image: Eddie Mitchell)
Mr Straker added: “The Home Office throughout the entire process has been awful. They’ve been disingenuous.”
Grandmother Karen Creed, who lives next door to the base, said she felt “hoodwinked” by the Home Office. She said: “It makes me cross that I, as a female, have to be worried about my safety.”
Ms Creed added: “We feel trapped here. We worked damned hard to be here.” She issued a stark warning to others: “Beware anyone else living in a nice area. It could happen anywhere.”
The grandmother slammed the Government’s handling of the migrant crisis, saying: “The government is not dealing with the consequences, […] of immigrants coming in and just coming over in the boats. Sort that out, because this, we are the consequences of the lack of organisation and management of that.”
The first group of migrants arrived at the camp in a 16-seat coach with police escort in the early hours of Thursday morning, pulling up in persistent rain at 3.28am.
Andrew Tuck, 75, who has lived in the area for 38 years, said the news came “as a shock to everyone”. He said: “Personally I think the government needs to sit up and take responsibility for what they should be doing in this country, which is protecting the residents of this country. We should come first.”
The camp backs onto residents’ gardens (Image: Eddie Mitchell)
Mr Tuck fumed: “The home office have completely ignored us. Crowborough is just the start, they are ignoring the people in this country who work, pay their taxes and keep everything going.” He added: “They’re running roughshod over us. This has just been dumped on us.”
Kim Bailey, chair of Crowborough Shield residents group, said: “Well there has been no engagement, that’s the key element here. The Home Office is trying to use emergency powers to secretly push through an unsafe decision, and an unlawful decision, and that’s what we are opposing through a judicial review.”
She added: “It’s a day of shame for this Labour Government.”
A large police presence remained at the camp on Thursday morning, with officers rotating throughout the day. Local councillor James Partridge confirmed on Wednesday evening he had been contacted by Home Office minister Alex Norris.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Illegal migration has been placing immense pressure on communities. That is why we are removing the incentives that draw illegal migrants to Britain, closing asylum hotels that are blighting communities. Crowborough is just the start. I will bring forward site after site until every asylum hotel is closed and returned to local communities. I will not rest until order and control to our borders is restored.”
