Protesters celebrate seeing off hotel plan to house migrants

A VICTORY parade is being held by campaigners today after they won their fight to stop asylum seekers being housed in a four-star spa hotel.

- Tony Whitfield

The celebration follows months of blockades and protests outside the luxury venue near Llanelli, South Wales, over the controversial proposals highlighted by the Sunday Express.

The Home Office withdrew the plans following reports of "legal difficulties". The cost to taxpayers is expected to run into millions of pounds.

Locals say protests will continue outside the Stradey Park Hotel because they have no "trust" in the owner to restore it to its original use.

They argue it is now up to Gryphon Leisure Limited to win back the confidence of the community. But they suggest people in the picturesque village of Furnace may still boycott the venue over the "disgusting" way it behaved.

In May it was announced the hotel was to house up to 241 asylum seekers, a move that was also opposed by Carmarthenshire County Council and local MP Dame Nia Griffith.