PRIVATE security guards will be hired by a council over asylum seeker worries for the first time.

Leaders at Reform-run Essex blasted Home Office plans to increase the number of migrants living at a former RAF base from around 800 to as many as 1,245.

Reform-run Essex council will hire private security guards over asylum seeker fears

Council leader Peter Harris spoke out over safety concerns Credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Minibuses take residents of the Wethersfield centre into Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford each day.

Council leader Peter Harris spoke of safety fears “particularly among women and girls” and said security officers will patrol the areas.

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He said: :“This is a positive and proportionate response to the concerns residents have been raising for many months now.

“It regards the daily bussing of asylum seekers from Wethersfield to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford.

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“Concerns for community safety are clearly there.

“Particularly among women and girls, because of the daily gatherings of asylum seekers – gatherings which will increase in number and size as the facility expands.

“I have voiced these concerns directly to the Home Office, which now runs a fleet of 17 minibuses to the three nearest towns and cities on a daily basis.”

Mr Harris said “Operation Vanguard” will see security officers patrol the three areas.

He said that two private security officers will now be deployed in each centre to provide a visible presence, reassure residents and deter anti-social behaviour.

Meanwhile, Reform says it will use its conference next week to unveil how it would start fixing “broken Britain” in a first 100 days of government.