A HOTEL near Worcester has refused to confirm claims it is being used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.

Rooms at The Pear Tree Inn and Country Hotel, in Smite, near Worcester, are allegedly being used by people hoping to claim asylum in the country.

The hotel's online booking system is showing all rooms as unavailable for the foreseeable future.

A local resident contacted the Worcester News saying the hotel is now closed to the public but residents had been kept in the dark about its change of use.

Despite several calls, nobody from the hotel would confirm or deny that it was being used for asylum seekers.

Worcestershire County Council and Wychavon District Council declined to comment.

READ MORE: Scoffs is relaunching at The Swan Inn pub on Barbourne Road

The Home Office does not comment on operational arrangements for individual sites used for asylum accommodation.

However, it said it would urge local authorities to do all they can to help house people permanently.

READ MORE: New Chequers windows smashed by vandals over the weekend

A Home Office spokesperson told the Worcester News that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is "unacceptable."

They said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.

“The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6million a day.

"The use of hotels is a short-term solution and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation."

According to the Home Office, it engages with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and works to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people, 

Home Office data also says that the total hotel cost is £6.8millon, and the cost of accommodating asylum seekers in hotels is £5.6million a day.

The resident said: "The Pear Tree Inn Hotel, Smite, has taken in asylum seekers. 

"The hotel is now closed to the public. Residents of the area have not been told and are unaware."

Another local resident in Smite said he has seen large groups of people outside the hotel playing football and cricket.

The Fownes Hotel on City Walls Road is also currently being used to house asylum seekers in Worcester.

A Worcester City Council spokesman: “We are aware that the Home Office has contracted the Fownes Hotel for its use.”