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Residents in a UK city say they are living in fear as asylum seekers at a spa hotel "eye up young girls" in behaviour that has been labelled "stomach churning". The Leeds hotel was repurposed as asylum seeker accommodation in January 2022, amid accusations of a failure to consult neighbours on the change.

More than fours years on, residents in the West Yorkshire area say the hotel occupants are continuing to cause local unease, including by staring at young girls and making women afraid to go outside.

Andrew Foster, 42, who grew up near the migrant site and recently moved back home, said he was "not happy" with the "lovely area" serving as a base for illegal arrivals while they wait for their claims to be assessed.

"We don't know who they are," he told the Daily Mail.

"We don't know their background. When we first moved in, my best friend, who is a police officer, came to see the house with my goddaughter who was 12 at the time. We were just saying our goodbyes when three or four of them walked by and starting looking her up and down. They were eyeing her up as a young female."

Dave Bainbridge, 67, also said local women had begun avoiding a park near the hotel after it was repurposed and called for the Government to move the asylum seekers out and return the accommodation to its former commercial use, which included a swimming pool, gym and sauna.

A Home Office spokesperson labelled the behaviour described by Mr Foster as "stomach churning" and said anyone involved in conduct amounting to sexual harassment or stalking "must face the full force of the law".

"We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and cross-government teams to speed up closure of every asylum hotel," they added.

"Work is already underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on local communities."

The Government has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament, instead opting for more basic accommodation including disused military sites.

The Home Office has also said it will bring in legislation to stop illegal migrants "gaming the system" by using the European Convention on Human Rights to appeal against their removal.

But Sir Keir Starmer is continuing to face mounting pressure over the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel, which has exceeded 65,000 since he became Prime Minister in July 2024.

The reallocation of migrants from hotels to alternative accommodation has also not been without its difficulties, however, with thousands marching in Crowborough, East Sussex, after the first batch of asylum seekers were moved into a local army site in January.