Rise in reports of disorder at RAF Scampton ahead of asylum seekers' arrival

RAF Scampton. Credit: PA

A Dambusters flag was set alight in one of a growing number of incidents at a former RAF base which is being turned into an asylum centre.

Police say they have been responding to a rise in incidents, including multiple assaults, at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.

Protest camps have sprung up around the perimeter over government plans to accommodate 2,000 asylum seekers at the site, which was home to the famous Dambusters squadron during the Second World War.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said the Dambusters flag was allegedly torched between 12 noon and 1pm on 30 January.

Another incident was reported on 4 February.

The spokesperson said: "We have received a report that a number of people wearing face masks arrived at protest camps based at a number of gates and forced those there to leave, leaving behind their belongings.

"This is then followed by incidents during the day on Sunday where we have received multiple reports of assaults."

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Asylum seekers are set to start arriving at the site in April, after a legal challenge failed last year.

Police are appealing for anyone who drove past the site at the weekend to check any footage to "establish if anything untoward is shown".

The spokesperson added: "We will continue to patrol the area and respond to incidents called in by concerned members of the public as they rightly expect us to do."

Incidents reported to us which have required a larger policing presence are suspected to have involved a minority of protestors, many of whom are believed to be from outside of the county.

We would encourage everyone who wishes to voice their opinions through protest – which is a right we help uphold when done within the law – to do so peacefully. "

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