SWINDON has become home to five more asylum seekers in the last three months.

New Home Office figures show the number of refugees coming to Britain fell by 32 per cent in the first quarter of 2003, to 16,000. But, over the same period, the number in Swindon rose from 100 to 105 an increase of five per cent.

At the end of March, there were 15 refugees in flats, hostels and hotel rooms paid for by the National Asylum Seekers Service (NASS), compared to 10 at the end of 2002.

A further 90 were receiving cash only, for food, clothes and travel and were accommodated in private lets paid for by the Home Office. That figure is the same as last December.

The published statistics do not include people whose request for asylum has been granted and are now officially classified as refugees.

Bernie Brannan, head of Swindon Council's housing department, said the small rise was due to the fact Swindon had been designated as a dispersal cluster area. Under the scheme, the town could receive up to 900 asylum seekers.

A private company called Clearsprings has been contracted to house up to 250 asylum seekers in the town but so far only 25 have arrived.

Mr Brannon said: "The numbers probably have gone up in the last year. But to put it into context, it was planned we were to receive 900 so 105 is relatively low and it is likely to remain that way. That is because we simply do not have the accommodation."

The government is now winding down the dispersal system, in favour of housing refugees in a series of accommodation centres across the country.