A UNIVERSITY lecturer says he and fellow foreign academics are being driven out of the country by a ‘hostile and threatening’ atmosphere since the Brexit vote.

Daniel Nehring, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Worcester, says he has spoken to at least 10 other lecturers who all feel the same and are also considering leaving the UK.

Mr Nehring, 38, from Coesfeld, in Germany, came to Britain in 2000 to study and says he is ‘immensely grateful’ for the support he has received during his time here.

But he says there has been a huge change since the EU referendum and that he no longer feels welcome here.

“Everybody I have spoken to feels the same in one way or another. It’s likely people will start leaving, I can’t say how many but people will leave,” he said.

“There’s a hostile and threatening atmosphere. We feel we really are not welcome here anymore.

“People have talked about getting dirty looks in shops. A few weeks ago I walked into a supermarket and someone said they were fed up of people speaking in foreign languages.

“Academics are very mobile, it’s easy to move as our knowledge is portable. But some have families and would find it more difficult.”

Mr Nehring described a xenophobic incident he experienced on a train in London, just after the referendum result.

He heard two separate groups talking about deporting foreigners, before he interrupted a third group. “I really couldn’t contain myself any more. I asked them if they wouldn’t mind changing the topic, which led to the gentleman getting very angry,” he said.

“He said something along the lines of, ‘You just signed your death warrant’. I think he was referring to the referendum outcome.”

Mr Nehring is worried about the stigma foreigners have acquired and says the word migrant has become synonymous with scrounger.

He says his partner was considering moving to the UK but found it so unfriendly she decided to go elsewhere.

Mr Nehring, who lives in Princes Drive, Worcester, says Britain is at risk of seriously damaging its reputation abroad.

He points to Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s speech about drawing up lists of foreign workers in the UK as an example of ‘hostility’ to foreigners.

Mr Nehring, who deals with migration issues in his research, has been teaching at the University of Worcester since March 2015, stresses that Worcester for the most part is “lovely” and that he does not wish to insult the city.

But he feels that only a “meaningful public debate” on multiculturalism could now stop him from leaving the UK.

The University of Worcester says it backs Mr Nehring’s stance and that it welcomes staff and students from across the world, adding that citizens from outside the UK are crucial to its work.

It is reassuring staff that the university is committed to democracy, racial equality and tolerance.

“The very thought that anyone should be subjected to any kind of xenophobic or racist abuse is deeply disturbing and one which we must all fight against,” a spokesman said.

“We are doing and will continue to do everything we can to support all of our staff and students in this difficult national landscape.

“Each and every one remains very much a part of our Worcester family and community.”

The university says it champions racial equality and inclusion, encouraging staff and students to challenge unacceptable behaviour.