Migrant camps 'turn British towns into no-go zones for women' as fears rise for future of Piddington

Women in the village have urged female MPs to intervene, warning they would be outnumbered 10 to one.

But now, locals in Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester in Essex have opened up on what life is really like after receiving their own batch of neighbours nearby.

Some 800 migrants are currently being housed at MDP Wethersfield, eight miles from Braintree, as they await decisions on their asylum applications.

Locals have said the presence of the illegal migrants have endangered women and girls. They have allegedly been spat at, filmed without consent, harassed and told to "cover up".

Essex Police Chief Constable Rachel Nolan has claimed migrant crime was "very low" and there was no reason for concern, but residents in nearby towns described a very different picture.

In Braintree, Valerie Spurgeon, 80, told The Sun she was told by three migrants she was "too old to f***" as she withdrew money from a cashpoint.

And Annette Lucas, 74, has been forced to give her 13 and 16-year-old granddaughters rape alarms.

Six private security guards have been hired by Essex County Council to patrol the streets and provide a 'visible and reassuring presence'

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Chelmsford-based personal trainer Tracy, 46, said she had received abuse for ignoring illegal migrants.

"The last time, I heard someone spitting and realised it was at me. I looked and he went, 'You, come here'," she said.

The man then hurled abuse towards her, asking why she did not "trust him".

Reform UK-led Essex County Council has gone so far as to hire six private security guards to patrol the streets and provide a "visible and reassuring presence" to worried locals.

Deputy Leader Russell Quirk, 58, told The Sun: "The Lib Dem MPs who run Piddington council have an open-door policy to migrants. The people of Piddington should be careful.

MDP Wethersfield is home to around 800 migrants and residents of Essex have complained of increased crime

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"I feel angry on their behalf because they are about to have imposed upon them what the people of Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester have suffered for years."

Mr Quirk also said taxpayers were "paying for an MMA fighter from Afghanistan" to be "trained how to fight" as he revealed migrants had been provided "gyms with equipment David Lloyd would be proud of".

GB News previously interviewed Afghan asylum-seeking fighter Jahlil Ahmad in Crowborough, but it remains unclear how many trained MMA combatants have illegally arrived in Britain.

Essex County Council leader Peter Harris told GB News in August that asylum seekers were living in "a holiday camp" with gymnasiums, sports halls, squash courts, a fitness room, two restaurants and a snack bar.

Mr Quirk said: "Now they have 17 minibuses to bring migrants into Essex towns for day trips. It's presenting a clear and present danger to women and girls.

The presence of barbastelle bat, a rare species, could block the development of the Piddington migrant camp

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"Some of those migrants are sticking their fingers up at British society in terms of how they then behave.

"If anyone wants to try and contend that there isn't a problem here as a consequence of Wethersfield, they need to give their head a wobble."

The Piddington migrant camp, may, however, be blocked over the presence of endangered animals, including great crested newts, nearby.

Last night it emerged barbastelle bats, a rare species of bats whose numbers have declined across Europe, have been detected near the site and could thwart the migrant plans.

An ecological report for campaign group Wrong Plan, Wrong Site, read: "The presence of barbastelles has the specific legal weight required to entirely halt, delay or force the withdrawal of a major planning application."

Pedro Collins, an ecologist who was a biodiversity officer with the Environment Agency for more than 20 years, said the presence of a barbastelle raised the issue from just a "standard local level to national and European importance".

Piddington Parish Council Chairman Tim McNally described the vote for independence as "Ground Zero for a whole number of issues", and the vote may now embolden towns facing crimes from migrants.

The Home Office has denied allegations of taxpayer-funded activities for asylum seekers at Wehersfield.

"There is no basis for these claims," it said. "We work closely with local police to ensure the safety and security of communities around the site.

"Large sites such as Wethersfield have been operating for a number of years, with no evidence of rising crime in the area.

"The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1billion on asylum support since the election.

"We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community."