Fury after Home Office ‘fails to tell Devon town they will host up to 70 Calais migrants’

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Great Torrington is set to to welcome up to 70 migrants

A “respite facility” has been set-up in Great Torrington, just 25 miles away from Bude, which will house some of the first migrants from the Jungle who will arrive under the “Dubs amendment”, which grants refuge to the most vulnerable refugees.

A local community leader dubbed the Government’s decision to establish a camp in the small town as “bizarre” and that officials had not consulted the 5,000-strong population of north Devon town.

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Nick Hallam, secretary of the Great Torrington Cavaliers, said: “We are a very tolerant, accommodating community but that is a very large amount of people.

“This is the first we have heard about it and I think that the Home Office should have consulted with the local community on these things.”

Devon County Council has defended the decision, stating the temporary facility will provide a welcoming place where children will be reunited with family members before moving to other parts parts of Britain.

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The Calais migrant camp is set to be torn down today

Yet Mr Hallam argued that he was not aware of a single migrant family living in the area and warned of the dangers the migrants could put on local facilities.

Mr Hallam said: “Fifty to 70 is a huge number and It’s a very rural area and you have to think that there are very restricted public transport services.

“Access to dentists and doctors is very limited. “You would have thought it would have made more sense to settle them in rural areas. It seems bizarre.”

Conservative MP for Torridge and West Devon, Mr Geoffrey Cox, said the migrant camp would not become a “permanent institution” in the town.

He added: “The majority of the children will only be here for a few days. They will be under 18 and there is no question of anyone over 18 coming.”

Reports claim most of the arrivals into the small Devonshire town will be older than 16.

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A local community leader described the decision to resettle refugees in Great Torrington ‘bizarre’

Questions have been raised over the legitimacy of the age of some of the arrivals last week – with some of the migrants appearing to look older than 18.

The Calais ‘Jungle’ is set to be torn down again – meaning around 10,000 will be forced to find somewhere else to camp.