Staff assaulted in 'racially aggravated' attack
Henry Godfrey-Evans/BBCTwo members of security staff at a hotel were assaulted in a "racially aggravated" incident during a protest, police said.
Essex Police said it was investigating after the staff members at The Bell Hotel, in High Road, Epping, were left with serious injuries after an attack on Sunday night.
Epping Forest District Council leader Chris Whitbread had called for the hotel to be closed. It followed the arrest of a man, from High Road, Epping, on suspicion of three sexual assaults.
A force spokesman said the assault on the security staff happened at about 20:00 BST on Sunday while the protest about asylum seekers was taking place outside the hotel.
The two security staff reported being attacked by a group of men, police said.
The force spokesperson said the two victims managed to make their way through the protest into the hotel, with initial investigations suggesting the offences were "racially aggravated".
"Both victims have received hospital treatment for serious injuries, which are thankfully not life-threatening or life-changing," said the spokesperson.
Lewis Adams/BBCTwo local MPs have joined Conservative council leader Whitbread in calling for an end to The Bell Hotel being used to house asylum seekers.
Neil Hudson, Conservative MP for Epping Forest, and Alex Burghart, Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, said the Home Office did not understand the "seriousness of this situation".
A Home Office spokeswoman said the asylum system was under "unprecedented strain".
"That was the situation the government inherited, but we have begun to restore order, with a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK," she said.
"By restoring order to the system, we will be able to end the use of asylum hotels over time, and reduce the overall costs to the taxpayer of asylum accommodation."
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an asylum seeker from Ethiopia, is due to appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court for a second time on Thursday.
He has has denied committing three sexual assaults.
Mr Kebatu also denied charges of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without violence.
The court heard he had arrived in the UK on 29 June.
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