The site houses single male asylum seekers aged between 18 and 65 while their claims are processed, with groups transported by minibus into Braintree, as well as Chelmsford and Colchester.
Security guards deployed by Essex County Council patrol in Braintree town centre (Image: Will Colebourne/PA Wire)
A high street near a huge migrant centre has allegedly been turned into a “ghost town”, with locals claiming they are too frightened to go out. Residents in Braintree, Essex, have spoken of alleged intimidation and sexual harassment involving asylum seekers who are regularly brought into the town from the nearby Wethersfield accommodation centre.
Some women have claimed they have been approached or surrounded by groups of migrants, while one grandmother said she had given her teenage grandchildren rape alarms because she feared for their safety. Braintree is close to the former military base at Wethersfield, which is currently home to 1,245 migrants. The site houses single male asylum seekers aged between 18 and 65 while their claims are processed, with groups transported by minibus into Braintree, as well as Chelmsford and Colchester.
Security guards deployed by Essex County Council patrol in Braintree town centre (Image: Will Colebourne/PA Wire)
Annette Lucas, 74, said she had bought rape alarms for her grandchildren, aged 16 and 13, because she considered the town centre a “scary” place.
She told The Sun: “You’re not safe here. I bought them all rape alarms because they’re really loud.”
Mrs Lucas also claimed groups of migrants had surrounded her grandchildren and said they were afraid to come into the town.
Valerie Spurgeon, 80, claimed she was once surrounded by three asylum seekers after withdrawing her pension money.
She said she crossed the road to a supermarket for safety after telling them she “wasn’t very polite”.
Ms Spurgeon claimed the youngest man then made a sexually abusive remark towards her.
Another woman, who asked not to be named, alleged an asylum seeker had told her on the high street that he would “like to f*** her”.
Local man Daniel Davies, 51, said he had heard reports of women being wolf-whistled at and described groups of young men around the bus station as intimidating.
He said: “There’s a real fear in this community at the moment. As you can see, the town’s like a ghost town, especially on a Thursday.”
But not everyone in Braintree shared those concerns.
Leslie Lewis, 72, said she regularly travelled into the town by public transport and had never experienced trouble involving asylum seekers.
She said those waiting for their minibuses were kept apart from other people and “don’t interfere with anyone”.
Gary Waddington, 75, also said he had never personally witnessed problems involving asylum seekers and said he did not want Braintree portrayed as a frightening place.
Essex Police maintains Braintree is safe and says crime in the town is lower than it was three years ago, when the Wethersfield accommodation centre opened.
The force said 15 offences had been reported across Essex since June 2023, in which a member of the public was the victim and the suspect was identified as an asylum seeker from Wethersfield.
Police said neighbourhood teams patrol Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester every day, including at key times, to provide reassurance and deter crime and anti-social behaviour.
The concerns have nevertheless prompted a new security operation in Braintree town centre.
Operation Vanguard, introduced by the Reform-led Essex County Council, is a three-month trial funded through up to £150,000 from a community improvement fund. It is expected to cost around £118,000 plus VAT.
The private security operatives patrol between 10am and 6pm, seven days a week, but have no enforcement powers and must refer criminal matters to police.
Essex County Council leader Peter Harris said residents had been raising concerns for months over the daily bussing of asylum seekers into local towns.
Braintree District Council leader Tom Cunningham stressed that Braintree remained “a safe place to live, work and visit” and said action affecting the town centre should be based on evidence.
The Home Office said it works closely with police to ensure the safety of communities around Wethersfield.
Fury erupts in UK town amid migrant dinghy chaos – ‘It’s a disgrace!’
EXCLUSIVE: Protesters gathered in anticipation of the arrival of a vessell from France.
Protesters turned up opposing migrants in Gosport (Image: Adam Toms)
Protesters have slammed the authorities after an expected migrant boat never arrived at a UK town. Those who turned up in Gosport, Hampshire, to voice their opposition to the anticipated migrants said police presence was a “smokescreen”. Cops and hundreds of locals were present in Haslar Road before it was expected that a vessel carrying asylum seekers from France would be guided to the shore. Activist Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, urged his supporters to head there.
But as darkness descended, police said this would not happen. It was believed the boat would be heading to Dover instead. Brett Leishman, 55, a taxi driver in Gosport, called the situation a “disgrace”, adding that all the confusion about where the boat was heading to and police presence was a planned “smokescreen”.
He said: “Ten days ago they knew this was happening. You don’t bring police down from London and have drones if you didn’t know this was happening. [Migrant boats] were just appearing; now it’s organised. I want to know what the agenda is with this.”
Police kept watch in Gosport (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“They think it’s alright while I’m putting £40 a day of diesel in my taxi. I’m £120 a week worse off just on fuel. Anyone who’s fleeing their country […] I get it. But when you’ve got four, five 600 men pretending they’re 17 […] going around raping 80-year-old men and kids, something’s f***ing wrong.”
He added that sooner or later the child or grandchild of someone in today’s crowd will be raped. “You watch it kick off,” he said. “Especially a small town like this.”
Brett’s wife, Joanne Leishman, 59, a former barmaid, said: “I totally support it, everything they’re doing here.”
She added: “Without a doubt it’s been going for about a week. I still think they’re [the migrants] here personally.“
Dorrie Crabbe, 74, worked in education. She is concerned about the redevelopment of an immigration removal centre in Haslar, initially to open with 130 beds, with a controversial proposal to expand to a 600-bed capacity.
“It’s got to stop,” she said. “We can’t just carry on taking the numbers that are coming. Gosport is a small town, a peninsula. We’ve just been kept in the dark about what’s been going on.”
Her husband, Pete Crabbe, 75, a retired toolmaker, said: “The concern is that there is such a huge number when it really is very, very close to a housing estate. There are people of all different ages there. We don’t know who [the migrants are].”
The whole thing seems “underhand”, he added.
Tina Harrison, 59, lives in Portsmouth. She said: “I think it’s disgusting, the whole lot of it. Paying our taxpayers’ money to bring people here so they can get free housing, free medical care
Pete and Dorrie Crabbe watched on (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“My son has got a £56,000 bill for tax and he says, ‘Why should I pay it when you have people coming over to this country getting free housing and free dental care?’ The Government are thieving b*******. They take, take, take, take and never give back to English people. They are giving them money; they send it all abroad.”
A woman, 60, a business manager from elsewhere in Hampshire, wanted to remain anonymous.
She said: “It’s about time people stood up.”
On police operation and conflicting boat landing reports, she added: “It’s all being done to confuse. I don’t trust anything they say anymore. Nothing. It’s all planned. You don’t pull up resources like this in five minutes. It’s a big insult to the tax-paying public.“
A woman, 61, also wanted to remain anonymous. She is originally from Glasgow but has lived in Gosport for 30-odd years.
She said: “I don’t believe it. I still think they’re coming in tonight, and I’m disappointed that not many people came in tonight from their own town.
“It’s our town; we live here.”
She added: “I’m a Catholic, I don’t believe that you can rape women and rape children […] They are demented.”
Tina Harrison is frustrated by the small boat arrivals (Image: Adam Toms)
The local added: “We are not prejudiced. Not at all. We’ve had enough, mate. Enough.”
A 62-year-old lorry driver, who lives in Portsmouth, also wanted to remain anonymous.