A hotel in Clacton is taking in asylum seekers while their cases are being dealt with by the Home Office.

A number of families and individuals who have applied for political asylum from their war-torn homelands have been placed in the Chelsea House Hotel in Collingwood Road, Clacton. They could be there for up to a year.

But placing asylum seekers in seaside hotels flies in the face of a new Government scheme to rejuvenate British tourism.

Culture Secretary Chris Smith last week announced a 15-point action plan aimed at regenerating traditional resorts.

Asylum seekers have been accommodated at the Chelsea House hotel by London boroughs which struggle to find them places to live in their area.

A Newham Council spokeswoman said today it is using a hotel in Clacton to house people while they are waiting to be accepted or sent home.

She said: "There is a chronic shortage of affordable housing in our borough and many other London boroughs are in a similar situation. These people have applied for political asylum as they fear what will happen to them if they return to their own country.

"They have applied at the point of entry into this country and are not entitled to benefits but we as the local authority have a duty to provide them with accommodation and food."

The spokeswoman added the bill was picked up by Newham Council, although some of it could be claimed back from the Government.

She said there was currently a serious backlog of cases to be processed by the Home Office and it could take up to a year for them to be dealt with.

When This is Essex contacted the Chelsea House Hotel today the manager confirmed: "We do take asylum seekers in occasionally."

He added: "I don't want to discuss it at the moment - I'm too busy doing my job."

Mike Page, public relations manager for Tendring Council, said the council was occasionally required to place asylum seekers.

"We have a few families in the district at the moment which we have found accommodation for in the past," he said. "But normally they want to be housed in cities."

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