They call us scumbags' Bell residents on life at sharp end of protests

An asylum seeker staying at a hotel that has been a flashpoint for anti-migrant protests has described being called a "scumbag" and treated like a criminal by local residents.

- Matthew Weaver Diane Taylor

Dozens of residents of Epping's Bell hotel face an uncertain future after a court ruled on Tuesday that it cannot be used to house asylum seekers because of a breach of planning rules.

The verdict came after weeks of violent protests outside the hotel by far-right activists which were triggered when an asylum seeker resident was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Khador Mohamed, 24, from Somalia, said residents were locked in their rooms during the protests. When they were allowed to venture outside they were insulted, he said. "People call you scumbags sometimes and they throw cans of soda at you."

He added: "I wasn't expecting this in England. I thought it would be friendlier."

Mohamed said local attitudes had changed sharply after the charge against the resident. "Now we are seen as criminals - before that we were just normal people," he said.

He claimed one woman shielded her children behind her when she saw Mohamed on the street. "It was a painful thing to happen to me - now we are seen as rapists, paedophiles and thieves. I am sorry for what happened, but there is nothing much I can do. We are not all the same."