Thetford Locals Vow to Keep Protesting Until Migrants Are Removed from Their Streets

Windows smashed, protesters nicked and a female police officer “seriously bitten” – tensions are boiling over in Thetford, which has become the latest flashpoint in Britain’s row over migration. The Sun has the story:

Last week, angry crowds began throwing stones and eggs at several houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) on residential streets, where asylum seekers had been housed – and locals say they won’t stop until they’re gone.

Over three days, starting last Tuesday, ugly clashes broke out in the Norfolk town. …

The Sun visited the area in the aftermath of the chaos, with mother-of-two Georgia, who took part in several of the protests, telling us: “This will not stop. In fact, it is going to get a lot worse.

“We’re not some mindless mob, we are ordinary people who are angry and frustrated, and we’re going to keep protesting until these men are removed from our community.”

The violence resulted in one female officer being bitten, a male officer being hit by a thrown stone and a journalist injured.

Georgia, 26, admitted: “Things quickly got out of hand.”

Another man driving a white van, who refused to give his name, said: “These protests aren’t going to stop.

“The only time they will stop is when the authorities send all these people home.

“Instead, they are giving houses that could go to our own young people to migrants who have no right to be in our country.

“I’ve worked all my life since I was a teenager and paid my taxes.

“But these refugees get everything for free. It makes me and many other people very angry and that’s why these protests aren’t going to end.” …

Hospital clerk Lorraine Dean, 73, looked out sadly at the broken door and boarded-up window of the recently-sold house next door to the neat semi she shares with her three German Shepherd dogs.

The mob attacked it after learning that the new owner intended to turn it into a HMO for at least four male migrants, who would reportedly have their own bedroom but share a bathroom and kitchen.

“While I don’t condone the violence and the damage, I can’t blame them for what they did,” she said. 

“Nobody told me about the plans for this house. This is a nice, friendly community.” …

A Home Office contractor had leased private properties in the area on the open market – particularly HMOs – to accommodate small groups of asylum seekers.

Meanwhile, a couple of miles from the town at RAF Barnham, where Britain’s nuclear bombs were stored during the 1950s and 60s, another protest was going on over plans to house up to 3,750 refugees there.

Worth reading in full.

Stop Press: Andy Burnham says middle-class families should “play their part” by accepting asylum seeker accommodation near their homes, according to the Express.