At least 20 and as many as UK hotels are being used to house Channel migrants
Casually tapping on their smartphones and smoking in the sunshine, the young men gathered outside the once grand, but now slightly downmarket, hotel appeared carefree and relaxed.
Their untroubled, if somewhat bored, demeanour is perhaps no surprise.
Having successfully reached the UK as asylum seekers, they are now guests of the British taxpayer with free accommodation, three meals a day and a £39.60 weekly spending allowance.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday can reveal that at least 20 – and perhaps as many as 50 – hotels across Britain are being used to house migrants who have made the perilous crossing on small boats across the English Channel.