Stradey Park: Llanelli asylum hotel protesters set up camp

Protesters have set up camp outside a hotel in a bid to stop the Home Office using it to house asylum seekers.

The first of about 250 people were set to arrive at Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli this week.

Carmarthenshire council's last ditch attempt for an injunction at the High Court failed last week.

Four people were charged after police were called to several incidents at the hotel, starting on Friday, including a vehicle blocking an entrance.

The protesters, who argue the hotel is the wrong place to house asylum seekers, said security guards were seen leaving the hotel on Wednesday after the council prohibited the use of an unofficial access point to the site through a hedge.

Robert Lloyd, spokesman for the Furnace Action Committee, said protestors had also stopped "lorry loads" of beds from being delivered.

"We also know that microwave ovens will need to be delivered, because the hotel kitchens won't be used and the people will need a microwave to heat up meals three times a day," he said.

"All this kit has not arrived, so they can't move in the asylum seekers."

The BBC has been told that due to problems using the hotel's main entrance, part of a hedge bank was removed over the weekend to get access to the car park.

But the council deemed this to be "detrimental to pedestrian and highway safety" and ordered the hotel owners not to use it.

It is not known for how long the order will be in place or if the hotel owners will challenge it.

The Home Office and Clear Springs, the hotel owners, have refused to address the issue of Stradey Park.

The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases other than to say the asylum issue was costing the taxpayer too much and alternative options were needed.

The Welsh Refugee Council has also voiced its concerns about use of hotel to house asylum seekers for an indefinite time, arguing the UK government should speed up the processing of asylum claims.