Migrant camps have turned our towns into ‘no go zones’ for women – we pity people of Piddington for what awaits them

WHEN the pretty Oxfordshire village of Piddington voted to become independent from the UK this week, the nation and the world took note. Some 91 per cent of locals opted for “independence” in a symbolic referendum on Wednesday, in protest at Home Office plans to house 1,256 male migrants at a nearby former Ministry of Defence Police base. Migrants in Chelmsford, one of three Essex towns where Reform’s Operation Vanguard aims to tackle crime and allay residents’ fears Credit: ROB WELHAM / McLELLAN Two of the towns’ guards, hired from My Local Bobby Credit: ROB WELHAM / McLELLAN These numbers would leave the 133 women in the affluent village outnumbered ten to one. It was a bold move that residents of Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester in Essex will have paid close attention to — because they are ­actually living through the fears of the residents of Piddington. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Currently 800 migrants are being housed at MDP Wethersfield, eight miles from Braintree, while they await decisions on their asylum ­applications. Yet the numbers are set to rise to between 1,245 and 1,700. If the influx reaches full capacity, it could cost the taxpayer up to £224,400 every single day. Essex locals are furious at the expansion plans after discovering that dozens of migrants are being ferried into the three towns for shopping and food on a near-daily basis. They expressed fears that “lynch mobs” may occur after claims of “lecherous, nasty and disturbing” behaviour by migrants during their taxpayer-funded days out. Locals claim it is turning their peaceful towns into “no-go zones” for women and girls, who have ­allegedly been spat at, filmed without consent, harassed and told to “cover up”. In response, Reform UK-led Essex County Council has hired six “security operatives” to patrol the streets and combat what it calls a “clear and present danger”. Most read in The Sun MDP Wethersfield has a gym and snack bar for the 800 migrants to use Credit: Tom Bowles Villagers celebrate in Piddington after they voted to become independent from the UK Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Deputy leader Russell Quirk, 58, warned: “The Lib Dem MPs who run Piddington council have an open-door policy to migrants. The people of Piddington should be careful. “I feel angry on their behalf because they are about to have imposed upon them what the people of Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester have suffered for years.” Quirk is furious about the “tranches of evidence” related to migrant crime in Essex, especially after seeing the “luxurious environment” at MDP Wethersfield last month. It follows claims migrants are living in a “holiday camp” due to its David Lloyd-style gym facilities, snack bars and suggestion box for improvements. Quirk claims they have even asked for a swimming pool, while a “famous Afghanistani MMA fighter” is honing his skills in one of the gyms. He tells us: “I s**t you not, the taxpayer is paying for an MMA fighter from Afghanistan, not just to come here and be accommodated, but to be trained how to fight. “There are snooker and pool tables, squash courts, and gyms with equipment David Lloyd would be proud of. “They are given £9-a-week to spend at a snack bar, have big TVs where they hosted World Cup parties and there’s even a suggestion box. “I was told the ‘service users’ — that’s what they call them — asked for a pool to be installed. “Now they have 17 minibuses to bring migrants into Essex towns for day trips. It’s presenting a clear and present danger to women and girls. “Some of those migrants are sticking their fingers up at British society in terms of how they then behave. “If anyone wants to try and contend that there isn’t a problem here as a consequence of Wethersfield, they need to give their head a wobble.” Migrants queue for the minibus in Chelmsford to be taken back to MDP Wethersfield Credit: Tom Bowles In Braintree, Valerie Spurgeon, 80, was accosted at an ATM Credit: Louis Wood Essex Police Chief Constable Rachel Nolan has insisted crimes linked to “Wethersfield service users” are “very low” and there is “no reason” for concern. The force told us 23 of the migrants had been arrested this year ­— four related to incidents in Essex, five outside Essex and the rest at Wethersfield. But while the force is dampening fears, ­residents of the Essex towns paint a very different picture. In Braintree, Valerie Spurgeon, 80, said she was told “you’re too old to f***” after a row when three migrants surrounded her while she withdrew her pension money from a cashpoint. Gran Annette Lucas, 74, has resorted to arming her granddaughters, 13 and 16, with rape alarms. In Colchester, migrants were seen “bumming around” with their “hands down their crotches, spitting” and allegedly harassing locals. Mum-of-two Jordyn Dellamura, 30, claimed a man tried to lure her nephew off a bus. His mum immediately intervened. Meanwhile, in Chelmsford gran Celia Edwards, 78, predicts “anarchy on the streets” amid reports of “lecherous, nasty and disturbing behaviour”. Safety fears led Reform to bring in the security patrol on Monday after 70.4 per cent of the towns reported they were “concerned about asylum seekers being bussed in”. Called Operation Vanguard, it will cost £144,000 for a three-month trial and the teams operate seven days a week from 10am until 6pm. It is welcome news to Chelmsford-based personal trainer Tracy, 46, who tells us she “can’t stomach the place now” due to the area being “overridden with crime”. She has changed her shift patterns and the route she walks home to avoid being accosted by groups from Wethersfield, who she says “run riot” until they are taken back to camp. Tracy says: “I’ve got a load of abuse for ignoring them. “The last time, I heard someone spitting and realised it was at me. I looked and he went, ‘You, come here’. “He started calling me a bitch, and asking why I didn’t trust him. They are sleazy. “They have been lecherous towards schoolgirls and abusive to boys. It’s disgusting behaviour.” Retired office worker Christine Aylott, 76, who lives near the migrant drop-off point, has just paid for “proper locks” on all of her ­windows fearing she will be burgled. She adds: “I wish I had a taxpayer-funded allowance to shop with, a free smartphone and was bussed into Chelmsford.” Near to the spot where 11 migrants emerged from a minibus on Tuesday, mum Gemma — not her real name — claims their influx has left “everyone panicking and scared”. That includes her 21-year-old daughter, who has a young son, and is “terrified to walk” the short ­distance home. Gemma says: “When she’s on her own, she calls me. “She doesn’t feel safe. The Government isn’t doing anything about this.” Nearby, taxi driver Graham Meadowcroft, 67, claims migrants “come in every day . . . dressed in designer gear, not rags”. He recalls taking one back to Wethersfield in his cab. Due to not speaking English, the man could only identify it as “camp” and showed a map grid-reference. Retired office worker Christine Aylott has installed more locks on her home Credit: ROB WELHAM / McLELLAN Reform’s Russell Quirk is furious about the ‘tranches of evidence’ related to migrant crime in Essex Credit: x/russellquirk “The fare cost £60, but the guy opened his wallet and it was full of £20 notes,” Graham says. “I thought, ‘I haven’t got that and I’m working’.” The cabbie of nearly 44 years estimates a minibus would charge £150 each way for a ride into Chelmsford, meaning a £300 cost for each day out. When The Sun visited the area, six migrants were seen racing into a phone shop. Three others sat outside. When approached, they didn’t want to talk. Some pulled masks over their faces. Others scowled. “I don’t understand English,” one told us, as he typed in English on his smartphone. Sadly, seconds later, a lady stormed past, pointed at them and disgustingly spat: “Rapist, rapist, rapist.” The horrific comments are symbolic of the tinderbox atmosphere in ­Chelmsford, which off-duty Met Police officer Kelly Cloughton, 50, fears will ­escalate into violence. “Now that people know migrants are coming in on buses into town, I fear there’s going to be a lynch mob,” she says. “Bringing guards in only scares people even more. It will stir up violence.” Not long after, two guards hired by Reform from security firm My Local Bobby approached the group. One waved a finger in a migrant’s face and instructed him: “Pull down the mask. Why do you need a mask?” Some locals strongly disapprove of the patrol, including one lady who dubbed them “Tweedledum and Tweedledee,” referring to the portly Alice In Wonderland characters. Reform tells us the guards are former police officers, detectives, rapid response officers and Army veterans, some with ten-plus years’ experience. They insist it will be a “visible security presence” that will help to curb antisocial behaviour. Councillor Quirk says: “The guards are designed to be visible, it’s a deterrent, it’s not to be antagonistic. They’re not following migrants around.” Essex Police told us Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester “remain safe places” and experience less crime than three years ago. A Home Office spokesman says: “We do not recognise the alleged incidents as reported and would encourage anyone with evidence of criminal activity to report it to the police.” They added that primary healthcare and activities on the Wethersfield site help to reduce pressure on local amenities. The Home Office told The Sun there is “no evidence to support allegations of taxpayer-funded activities for asylum seekers. “There is no basis for these claims. “We work closely with local police to ensure the safety and security of communities around the site. “Large sites such as Wethersfield have been operating for a number of years, with no evidence of rising crime in the area. “The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1bn on asylum support since the election. “We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.” Comment now