Migrants housed in Essex hotel find themselves at mercy of local hostility

Far-right Britain First party leading the charge against asylum-seekers with false claims of crime surge' in Epping

Jabbing a finger in the direction of the Bell hotel, Paula Clarke was in no doubt as to what needed to happen to it. They need to build an electrified fence around the place. It's the only way to protect us," said the 68-year-old.

The hotel, which was originally a 16th-century coaching inn and is sited on the southern approach to the town of Epping in Essex, can never before have generated so much fear and loathing. Some nearby residents want its current occupants deported. Others feel very differently, proud to offer them sanctuary.