A hotel migrant has been arrested after bursting into a blind woman’s home in east London.
The man, in his early 20s, had been followed by a group of men in the street when he entered the flat on the Isle of Dogs on Wednesday.
Footage began circulating on social media of him being detained by members of the public nearby and told to “go back to the hotel” where anti-immigration protesters were gathered outside.
The nearby Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf is being used to house hundreds of asylum seekers.
The Metropolitan Police, having initially said no offences had been identified, updated that in the early hours of Friday, the migrant was arrested in the Hackney area on suspicion of common assault.
A spokesman added: “We can confirm that this is the man who allegedly entered the flat. He is now in police custody.”
The force said this was as a result of officers carrying out extensive CCTV enquiries and speaking to witnesses.
Separately, an occupant of the property Channay Augustus, 22, of Byng Street, Tower Hamlets has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault and possession of cannabis.
The charges of affray and common assault relate to an altercation at the Britannia Hotel in Marsh Wall later on Wednesday evening when Augustus is said to have been in possession of a meat cleaver and threatened two people, Aqib Ahmad and Abdullah Abdi.
Mr Ahmad - the alleged common assault victim - is a security guard, not the suspect who allegedly entered her flat.
Augustus has been remanded in custody to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court later this morning.
The hotel has been a focus of protests in recent weeks.
According to the Daily Mail, a sister of the blind woman said she suffers from a series of serious health complications.
Cherelle Augustus, 35, was at home with another relative when the man entered the home, just a few hundred yards from the controversial hotel.
Ms Augustus claimed: “My poor sister had no idea what was happening. She was with my niece in the house at the time last night.
“She’s in such a vulnerable state. She had been in hospital earlier in the week and had been in an induced coma earlier in the day when this lunatic bursts in.
“She was so scared. He never said he was being chased. He didn’t say he was coming in for safety. The door was open because it's so warm.
“My young niece was in the property as well with my sister. She was so worried.
“They had no idea what his intentions were. They feared for their lives. He could have been anyone or capable of anything.
“He could have been armed. They felt trapped in their house where they are supposed to be safe.
“They were terrified.”
She claims police then returned him to the hotel via car and did not question him why he had entered the property.
She added: “But you get arrested for standing up to them.
“It’s two-tier policing. They are an absolute disgrace.
“I’m horrified at what has happened. It’s disgusting.
“It’s a joke. But it’s not funny it’s deadly serious.
“People are terrified.”
'It is like living in an oven': Londoners warn of scorching tower block temperatures
Gang bundled pregnant woman into van and threatened to cut her fingers off
Woman thought volunteer officer could ‘kill’ her during alleged sexual assault
‘Systemic failures’ led to unlawful death of girl at mental health unit – family
