Police are investigating a suspected hate crime after a security guard was left bloodied during a protest outside a hotel housing migrants.
Two members of staff at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex were left seriously injured as anti-immigration protesters clashed with counter-demonstrators on Sunday.
It came after an asylum seeker who was staying at the three-star establishment was accused of committing three sexual assaults — just eight days after he arrived in the UK by boat.
The staff arrived at a bus stop on High Road around 100 meters from the building for the start of their shift at 8pm.
A video posted on social media showed one of the victims with blood on his face walking with officers into the hotel after being “set upon by a group of men”.
The attacks are being treated as racially aggravated by police who are carrying out an “extensive” probe into the incident.
Police were forced to intervene as large crowds jeered, with some screaming “Go home you c***” and “F*** off back on your boat”.
Officers also broke up a fight between two men during a solidarity march by Waltham Forest Stand up to Racism, although no arrests were made on the day.
A spokesman for the force said: “We are acutely aware and understand that emotions within the community are running high. However, crimes of any sort committed by anyone will not be tolerated.”
Last week, Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who arrived in Britain by boat on June 29 and was living at the hotel, was charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
Crimes of any sort committed by anyone will not be tolerated
The defendant, 38, who is originally from Ethiopia, was remanded in custody after a hearing at Colchester Magistrates' Court last Thursday. He denies any wrongdoing.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, and Alex Burghart, MP for Brentwood and Ongar, have called for The Bell Hotel and the Phoenix Hotel, another migrant hotel in Bobbingworth, to close without delay.
Chris Whitbread, leader of Epping Forest District Council, has also called for the hotels to shut, saying his views have been “ignored for far too long”.
He said: “From the outset, we warned the Home Office that this site is entirely inappropriate.
“Placing vulnerable individuals from a wide range of cultural backgrounds into an unsupervised setting, in the centre of a small town, without the proper infrastructure, support or services, is both reckless and unacceptable.”
Five years ago, The Bell Hotel became home to around 100 new residents —all men said to be from Africa, Asia and the Middle East — on what was supposed to be a temporary basis, according to MailOnline.
But a petition organised by Mr Whitbread calling for the closure of the Bell and Phoenix hotels has received more than 4,500 signatures.
Last year, the then-Tory government announced the arrangement would cease and that residents would be moved to “other parts of the asylum estate”.
However, the decision was reversed by the new Labour government, although Chancellor Rachel Reeves has since pledged to stop using taxpayer-funded hotels by 2029.
Two recent fires at the hotels led to charges of arson. Rawand Abdulrih, 36, of Epping, was charged with arson with intent to endanger life, on March 28 and April 5.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, but this cannot cross the line into unlawful or violent behaviour. We continue to work closely with Essex Police.
“While it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing police investigations, we have already taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum, and will do everything in our power to pursue deportation from the UK so that these vile criminals are off our streets and paying the price for their crimes.
“We are also taking immediate action to fix the broken asylum system we inherited. We are increasing asylum decision making and removing over 35,000 people, including failed asylum seekers, immigration and foreign national offenders, and there are now fewer asylum hotels open than since the election.”
The Standard has contacted Epping Forrest District Council for comment.
The Bell Hotel declined to comment.
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