Residents have been left too scared to leave their homes following a spate of alleged crimes in the last month.
There have been five arrests at the asylum centre in less than a month. (Image: Google Maps Street View)
Locals living near an asylum centre have been left terrified following alleged sexual attacks on children. There have been five arrests in less than a month, leaving residents too scared to leave their homes. Meanwhile, police have been forced to step up their patrols in the area.
The arrests, including for alleged rape and child sex assaults, have come at the taxpayer-funded Urban House in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Police confirmed two men, aged 24 and 39, were arrested on suspicion of rape while two women, 23 and 28, were arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting an alleged attack on August 5. They have all been released on bail.
Meanwhile, as reported by The Sun, 32-year-old Gabriel Thong was charged with sexual offences against a child under 13 following an alleged attack on August 20. He is due to appear at Leeds Crown Court.
According to a Freedom of Information request, 32 incidents were reported to police from Urban House in the first eight months of this year. It was revealed that six relate to sex attacks and three to violence, with detainees being from Eritrea, Iran, Afghanistan and Botswana.
The situation has left locals living in fear, with 42-year-old hairdresser Amy Campbell describing it as “scary”. She added that she will no longer go to the shops without her Staffordshire bull terrier.
Police have stepped up patrols in the area. (Image: Getty)
Dean Wilson, a 73-year-old former market trader, added: “We don’t feel safe now. My great-grandsons were chased by a man who said he was going to knife them. They were terrified.”
Sophie Hargreaves, a 35-year-old mum-of-two, claimed: “One fella would shout he was going to rape the woman next door, as well as animals and kids. I’ve called police a few times. There seems to be no concern.”
Other residents claim to have seen people “openly doing drug deals” while some women said men shout “sexist remarks” at them as they walk down the street. Police have now begun “reassurance patrols” in the area.
The Home Office said: “We will not tolerate criminal behaviour. Anyone convicted of a serious sexual offence will have their asylum claim rejected and we will seek to remove them at the first opportunity. Strengthened safety measures are in place at the site and an increased police presence has been deployed.”