Stradey Park: Police urge 'calm' as arrests made outside Llanelli hotel due to house asylum seekers

Five people were arrested outside the hotel on Wednesday afternoon.

Police have appealed for "calm and co-operation" outside a Llanelli hotel due to house asylum seekers.

Dyfed-Powys Police said protests at the Stradey Park Hotel & Spa had escalated over the past few days, with people gathering at the site against the plans to move in more than 200 asylum seekers.

One man was arrested and charged with criminal damage after the car of a contractor employed by the hotel was targeted on Monday.

On Tuesday night, a number of people trespassed on the hotel's grounds and "conducted themselves in an intimidating manner", according to police.

The force confirmed another five arrests were made on Wednesday afternoon in connection with further incidents at the hotel.

Dyfed-Powys Police is keeping officers at the site and said enquiries are ongoing.

A Section 60AA order (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) has been put in place meaning officers can require people to remove any item they believe is being used to conceal that person's identity.

In a statement, the force added: "We will always seek to facilitate peaceful protest, while balancing it with the rights of others, keeping the public safe and preventing crime and disorder.

"Where an offence is committed, we will take all reasonable and proportionate steps to bring offenders to justice."

One man was arrested and charged with criminal damage after the car of a contractor employed by the hotel was targeted on Monday.

Last month, Carmarthenshire County Council lost a bid for a High Court injunction to temporarily block plans to use the hotel to accommodate asylum seeker families, claiming it represented a “material change of use from a hotel to a hostel”.

The Welsh Refugee Coalition, a collection of organisations working with asylum seekers and refugees, has spoken out about the use of hotels as an option for accommodating asylum seekers.

Salah Rasool, the coalition's chair, told ITV Wales: “It is not a good way of respecting someone or asking them to integrate." They added that there was not enough specialist support for asylum seekers in small rural Welsh communities.

Meanwhile, the UK Government has said that The Home Office is "committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer".

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