The Norfolk market town of Thetford has become the latest epicentre of protests linked to government plans to house asylum seekers at former military sites, with residents saying they are “frightened” after three consecutive nights of disorder.
Six people have been arrested over this week’s disorder. An officer was hit with a rock, one spat at and another “seriously bitten” on Wednesday, police said.
Tensions had been building since the Government in June proposed moving thousands of asylum seekers into disused military facilities to clear hotels across the country currently housing migrants. One of them, RAF Barnham, is located about two miles south of Thetford town centre.
Some protesters targeted residential properties they believed were housing asylum seekers, police said, adding that some asylum seekers had to be escorted from homes as a result of the unrest.
Residents told The i Paper that the protests they saw began peacefully before growing violent.
