‘It’s a scam’: Inside the towns divided over Reform’s £150,000 migrant watchmen

“I think it’s pretty much a scam,” Mick Purkiss, 75, says during a visit to Braintree’s town centre. He’s referring to the two private security watchmen hired by Reform UK-run Essex County Council to patrol his town over fears that asylum seekers housed at nearby MDP Wethersfield disrupt local life. The council has allocated £150,000 for operatives from security firm My Local Bobby to patrol Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester over three months, with each town receiving two guards each. The security officers began patrols last Monday, and locals are divided over whether they have been of any use – or are needed at all. Shorts “I think it’s pretty much a scam to make people think that there is a problem with the immigrants at Wethersfield, when to my experience, I’ve never seen any problems at all,” Purkiss said. “They stand around waiting for a bus, which we all do. OK they’re in big groups – it’s not a problem. I’ve never seen any problems which would require this.” Police say the towns are safe Essex Police has said that Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester are safe and actually experienced less crime than they did three years ago, when the Government started housing adult male asylum seekers at Wethersfield. “Since June 2023, there have been 15 reported offences across Essex in which a member of the public was the victim and the suspect was identified as, or alleged to be, a Wethersfield service user,” the police said. “Of those incidents, six occurred in Colchester, three occurred in Braintree and five occurred in Chelmsford.” The Government announced in June that it would expand the intake from 800 to 1,200 migrants, prompting local fears and these new patrols. When The i Paper visited this week, Essex Police officers patrolling the town centre appeared more of a comforting presence to locals, who stopped and chat on multiple occasions. By contrast, the “Operation Vanguard” security guards from appeared more often to be speaking to one another, and many locals interviewed said they hadn’t even seen them around. Allan Winder, 62, said of the new patrols: “I don’t know if it’s going to be any good or not, quite frankly. I mean, they’re wandering around but what they’re actually doing, I don’t know.” One resident of Wethersfield, who asked to remain anonymous, said residents in her village were not bothered by the asylum seekers and that anti-immigration protesters had been more of a problem. Mass protests have broken out in Braintree and around Wethersfield over the asylum seekers in recent months. A protest in Braintree last year over the housing of asylum seekers at MDP Wethersfield (Photo: Martin Pope/Getty) But former Braintree locals Jeff and Mandy Azizi, who visit the area often, say asylum seekers aren’t the issue. “To be honest, all the protests that they have and the amount of unrest they cause is much more than the actual asylum seekers,” Mr Azizi said. “It’s not asylum seekers. It’s a different set of people that actually cause the problem [and] do a lot of shoplifting in this area.” The My Local Bobby officers do not have power to arrest, with any law enforcement requirement needed to be reported to Essex Police, the council said. Some locals in Chelmsford and Colchester have also voiced opposition to Operation Vanguard, telling journalists it performative and raising concerns it is stoking racial tensions in their areas. My Local Bobby did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Unnecessary – or worthwhile? But for those who have witnessed tensions in the area, the patrols are worth it. The window of a Sue Ryder shop was smashed this summer – but the smashed windows were the result of actions of a disgruntled local, The i Paper was told. There are now signs limiting groups to three at a time, as well as an Essex Police poster saying “open for business, closed for crime” on the shopfront. Chantel Cridland, 27, said she was outside another shop when an apparent asylum seeker insulted a staff member and allegedly tried to steal from the store. There have been similar reports of incidents. Chantel Cridland said she feels safer going out in Braintree after Operation Vanguard (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith) “I didn’t come to town for a few weeks because I was quite intimidated,” she said. To her, the patrols are making a difference. “I feel much safer. I feel like I can go out on my own in my own town, whereas before, I felt like I could never go out in my own town,” she said. Social media and hearsay about the asylum seekers have also inflamed tensions. One woman, who did not give her name, told The i Paper in passing that her brother in Australia tells her to be careful when visiting the town. Tina Gill, an unemployed Braintree resident, echoed the sentiment. “You don’t know who’s who now anymore,” she said. Gill, 52, was in the town centre with family as she said she is too afraid to frequent the area on her own because of the presence of asylum seekers. Tina Gill says she only feels safe going out in groups (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith) “I don’t feel safe. We always go out in crowds now. It’s just not Braintree anymore. It’s just unbelievable that they’ve been letting people over… It’s just unbelievable that they can actually bring them over without checking them out first,” she said. Graham Raynor, who is semi-retired, was particularly concerned about asylum seekers in the area. “To me they’re called illegal immigrants. It’s like an illegal invasion,” the 60-year-old said. “If they wanted asylum, they’d do it through the proper channels before they even got here. “And I’m not saying they’re all going to commit serious crime or anything like that but… it’s happened in other areas.” He expressed support for Operation Vanguard, although he said he had not seen the security guards and was not familiar with the scheme. “I’m not aware of it,” he said. “But anything that keeps local residents, especially the women and children, safe, I think, is a good thing.” ‘I don’t know which side of the road to walk on’ Tensions are usually particularly high on Thursdays, the day when a Care4Calais organised drop-in for asylum seekers is held at the Salvation Army centre, a few minutes’ walk away from the main town centre shopping area. But there was no sign of it this week, likely due to the anti-immigration protesters it has attracted, who have vowed to return when – or if – the drop-in does. “I don’t know which side of the road to walk on,” said Amber, 30, who works in a pet shop in the town centre. “You get the older English Patriots on the side with their flags sitting outside the Salvation Army. But then if you walk on the Salvation Army aide, I also feel quite unsafe.” But Amber, who declined to give her surname, said she felt more reassured walking with her dog than she did by the Operation Vanguard operatives. Jayne Miller, owner of local shop Fever Accessories, said she already felt safe in the town centre before the new patrols, but had noticed some regular customers had returned in light of Operation Vanguard. Braintree business owner Jayne Miller says the patrols are ‘reassuring’ for customers (Photo: Scarlett Milburn-Smith) “I think it’s good that they’re here to make everyone feel comfortable,” she said. “I think it’s just reassuring for our customers.” Mandy Azizi, who works in Braintree as a shop manager, said: “If the residents in Braintree feel unsafe, then obviously it’s needed. But from my personal opinion, I’ve never felt unsafe.” She added: “I’m in here most days. I don’t think I’ve ever seen groups of asylum seekers.” Concerns for community safety A man who declined to stop and answer questions said he films the asylum seekers and that two security guards aren’t enough – “[we] need the army”. According to Office for National Statistics, crime survey data in the year ending March 2026, antisocial behaviour and all crime was down by 8.6 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively in Braintree compared to the same period the year. Reform councillor Peter Harris, leader of Essex County Council, said: “Operation Vanguard is a positive and proportionate response to the concerns residents have been raising for many months now regarding the daily bussing of asylum seekers from Wethersfield to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford. “Concerns for community safety are clearly there, particularly among women and girls, because of the daily gatherings of asylum seekers – gatherings which will increase in number and size as the facility expands.” The Government says that asylum seekers residing in Wethersfield undergo an induction, with “clear expectations” set about their behaviour whilst on and off site. There are also mandatory security checks on all people seeking asylum through linking their biometric data to immigration, security and criminality databases, it said. The Home Office said “the safety and security of the local communities around the Wethersfield site is of paramount importance”. Local Bobby was approached for comment.