We live in ‘UK migrant capital’ – it’s one of poorest parts of country & we’re at breaking point with constant arrivals

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Next ONE of Britain’s poorest areas has become the country’s asylum seeker capital – leaving locals at breaking point. Hyndburn in Lancashire has taken on nearly four times the national average of migrants per head, putting strain on its services. 10 Hyndburn has seen an influx in asylum seekers Source: Dave Nelson 10 Butcher Clare Melling said the town is ‘in a bubble’ Source: Dave Nelson Advertisement The latest government data shows 423 asylum seekers were being housed there, while only 14 homeless households were in temporary accommodation.

House prices in the former textile trade hub are roughly half the national average – with many being snapped up and converted to houses of multiple occupation (HMO), then leased by the government for the new arrivals. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email.

The Sun visited Accrington, the area’s biggest town, this week and found residents in limbo and fed-up with the influx of new faces. Lucy Hardwick, CEO of local charity Maundy Relief, which provides food parcels and other support, said: “We are welcoming to absolutely anybody, so anyone can come here, but to be asked to shoulder a lot more people coming in does not seem at all fair – that does put pressure on local services. READ MORE NEWS VILE 'ASSAULT' Commuters stared at phones as 'Afghan migrants raped autistic girl on train' SICK 'ATTACK' Afghan migrants 'raped autistic girl, 14, in toilet attack on commuter train' “We are a welcoming community, but in five years time I can see cracks growing in that.”

Fishmonger Steve Bramwell, 70, whose family business has been at the town’s market for 150 years, said: “The migration situation is a problem. “If I was from Afghanistan, or Somalia, I would want to live here. It’s the land of plenty.” He continued: “We see our own veterans, maybe with mental health problems, struggling. Advertisement Most read in The Sun BIBLICAL SCENES Megatsunami could devastate US due to unstable volcano, warns scientist TEMPLE OF SECRETS Sex confessions to strip ritual…Mormon rebel reveals dark church secrets JUST THE WURST Price of beer and sausage at 'rip-off' UK Xmas market slammed by locals TERRORIST'S PAD Terrorist who called for murder of Brit troops is 'housed in council flat' 10 Fishmonger Steve Bramwell, 70, whose family business has been at the town’s market for 150 years Source: Dave Nelson 10 The Sun found a number of shuttered shops during our visit Source: Dave Nelson “We should have our own house in order before we open the doors to others.”

He said homegrown businesses are also struggling, and he is the only fishmonger left in the town – suggesting the UK “take a leaf” out of Australia and Canada’s books “where you should be able to support yourself before you are allowed in”. Retired HGV driver Jamie Martin, 73, some of his friends are fostering a young boy from Afghanistan, aged 10 or 11, who’s “a lovely lad”. Advertisement He believes the issues come down to “the benefits system throwing money at people”.

Jamie said: “I have made the mistake of working all my life – but I see all these working age people just walking round our streets during the day. “What annoys me is not just migrants, but why are they not all working. “Somebody needs to sit down and radically change what is going on.” Shopkeeper Julie Hyatt, 63, said with all the extra young men in the area: “I have seen strange behaviour.” Advertisement 10 Shopkeeper Julie Hyatt said ‘I have seen strange behaviour’ Source: Dave Nelson 10 Residents sat on a bench in Accrington town centre Source: Dave Nelson 10 Hyndburn was once the hub for the textile trade – and has many terraced homes Source: Dave Nelson 10 Carer Elisa Hargreaves, 58, says the problems in the town are far more than just the influx of migrants Source: Dave Nelson She added: “I’ve not got a racist bone in my body, but there are a lot of young lads just hanging around at Blackburn Road that seems to be their area.

Advertisement “It’s wrong the Government are now spending more on these people coming in than the NHS now.” At the family butcher’s shop of 70 years standing mum-of-one Clare Melling, 34, said: “We are in our own bubble here. We don’t notice any asylum seekers. “We stuff affordable and it’s the hard-working normal families that make up the majority of our customers.” Carer Elisa Hargreaves, 58, says the problems in the town are far more than just the influx of migrants.

She said: “I’ve lived here for 20 years, but in the last two years I’d say it’s changed completely. Advertisement “The town centre is like a ghost town – with everyone shopping online. “If you do go into town there’s always a fight going on, with drugs rife. 10 Hyndburn Food Pantry supports locals low on funds Source: Dave Nelson 10 Migrants cross the Channel from France Source: Getty “Round here there are always drug dealers on every corner.

Advertisement “There are HMOs on this street – the place over the road was set on fire by one of the residents and there is always police calling at the properties.” Councillor Joshua Roberts, Reform leader of Lancashire County Council, wants the problem of asylum seekers dealt with offshore, not in local communities. RECOMMENDED STORIES He said: “We are more than happy to take people on – Reform and myself see nothing wrong with genuine refugees.

“But asylum seekers should be dealt with offshore – we cannot be a charity for the world.”

Read the original article on thesun.co.uk

What we found (6)

The Sun declares Hyndburn the country's asylum seeker capital and its residents at breaking point in its own voice, and its headline puts a phrase in quotation marks that nobody in the article says. It sets 423 asylum seekers against 14 homeless households, a comparison of people against households that suggests locals are being displaced. It also runs promos for an alleged rape by Afghan migrants in the middle of residents' quotes about asylum seekers in the town.

Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“UK migrant capital”
Why this matters
The headline puts the words UK migrant capital in quotation marks, in the voice of residents.
The impression it gives
Local people call their town the UK migrant capital.
The context
No resident or official quoted in the article uses that phrase. It is The Sun's own label, written in S1 as asylum seeker capital without quotation marks.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“the country’s asylum seeker capital”
Show it in the article
“at breaking point with constant arrivals”
Why this matters
The headline has residents say they are at breaking point with constant arrivals.
The impression it gives
The people of Hyndburn say the town is at breaking point because of arrivals.
The context
No one quoted says breaking point. The charity head says she can see cracks in five years' time, a butcher says her shop does not notice any asylum seekers, and a carer says the town's problems go far beyond migration. The article gives no figure on the pace of arrivals.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“in five years time I can see cracks growing in that”
- Elsewhere in the article“notice any asylum seekers”
- Elsewhere in the article“far more than just the influx of migrants”
Show it in the article
States one side's claim as fact
Serious
“asylum seeker capital”
Why this matters
The Sun states in its own voice that Hyndburn has become the country's asylum seeker capital.
The impression it gives
Hyndburn houses more asylum seekers per head than anywhere else in Britain.
The context
The only figure the article gives is that Hyndburn has nearly four times the national average of migrants per head. It never shows that this is the highest in the country, and it switches between migrants and asylum seekers.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“nearly four times the national average of migrants per head”
Show it in the article
“leaving locals at breaking point”
Why this matters
The Sun asserts as fact that locals are at breaking point.
The impression it gives
The town as a whole is in crisis because of asylum seekers.
The context
The residents it quotes are divided. One says her shop notices no asylum seekers, and the charity head speaks of possible cracks in five years, not a present breaking point.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“notice any asylum seekers”
- Elsewhere in the article“in five years time I can see cracks growing in that”
Show it in the article
“putting strain on its services”
Why this matters
The Sun states without attribution that migrants are putting strain on Hyndburn's services.
The impression it gives
Strain on services is an established, measured fact.
The context
The article gives no data on services. Its only support is a charity head's view, which it reports later as her opinion.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“that does put pressure on local services”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Hyndburn houses nearly four times the national average of migrants per head, and a local charity head said this puts pressure on services.
Uses figures that mislead
Serious
“423 asylum seekers were being housed there, while only 14 homeless households were in temporary accommodation”
Why this matters
The Sun sets a count of individual asylum seekers against a count of homeless households, linked by while only.
The impression it gives
Asylum seekers are given housing that would otherwise go to homeless local families, and on a scale thirty times larger.
The context
The two figures use different units, people and households. The article gives no evidence that HMOs leased for asylum seekers are part of the temporary accommodation used for homeless households. Its own S4 says the homes are privately bought and converted, then leased.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“converted to houses of multiple occupation (HMO), then leased by the government”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Government data shows 423 asylum seekers housed in Hyndburn. Separately, 14 homeless households were in temporary accommodation.
Guilt by association
Minor
“raped autistic girl, 14, in toilet attack on commuter train”
Why this matters
The Sun places two promos for an alleged rape by Afghan migrants inside the charity head's quote, in the middle of residents' accounts of asylum seekers in Hyndburn.
The impression it gives
The asylum seekers housed in Hyndburn belong with the alleged rapists in the promo, and sexual violence is part of the story of the town.
The context
The article reports no crime by any asylum seeker in Hyndburn. The alleged train attack is an unrelated case elsewhere. The only Afghan resident the article describes is a fostered boy of 10 or 11 called a lovely lad.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“fostering a young boy from Afghanistan”
Show it in the article
Uses a loaded word
Minor
“fed-up with the influx of new faces”
Why this matters
The Sun says in its own voice that it found residents fed up with an influx.
The impression it gives
Residents generally share that view.
The context
Some residents it quotes say they notice no asylum seekers or blame online shopping and drugs for the town's decline.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“The town centre is like a ghost town”
Show it in the article
One side gets the space
Minor
“we cannot be a charity for the world”
Why this matters
The Sun ends on a Reform council leader calling for asylum seekers to be dealt with offshore.
The impression it gives
The views of residents and a Reform politician are the whole story of asylum in Hyndburn.
The context
No asylum seeker, refugee charity, council housing officer or Home Office source is quoted, though the story is about the people housed in the town.
Show it in the article

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Everything we scored from The Sun

We live in ‘UK migrant capital’ – it’s one of poorest parts of country & we’re at breaking point with constant arrivals

Headline goes beyond the article

States one side's claim as fact

Uses figures that mislead

Guilt by association

Uses a loaded word

One side gets the space

More from The Sun