The family are desperate and the remote location of the village isn’t helping.
Asylum seekers are scared just stepping out the house (Image: SWNS)
An asylum seeking family from Pakistan have complained they’ve been forced to move into the so-called ‘Migrant Street’ 60 miles from their previous home. Muhammad Nadeem, his wife Shamaila, and their four children have moved into a £250,000 newbuild home but say they already want to leave. The family fled their native Pakistan two years ago before settling in the UK and renting a house in Stockport, in Greater Manchester. Muhammad qualified for a work visa and got a job as an Uber driver. When the visa ran out they applied for asylum but were forced from their home and into a hotel while their application was processed.
Two weeks ago the couple were forced to take their three daughters and young son 60 miles away to a barely furnished four-bedroom house on Dutton Close, Stoke Heath.
Inside the family’s kitchen (Image: SWNS)
Around 21 newbuild homes on the road – originally built for social housing – have been set aside for around 83 asylum seekers to live in.
It comes as the Government pushes ahead with plans to phase out migrant hotels by 2029 and relocate people into “properties and ex-military sites”.
Residents of Stoke Heath are outraged at the prospect of their rural village being over-run with migrants.
Muhammad also says he is desperate to move, saying his family have already been targeted by thugs. The remote location of the village has also left them isolated.
Muhammad, 40, said: “The trouble started the day after we moved in.
Muhammad says he sleeps in the front room to protect his family from yobs (Image: undefined)
“My wife and our kids were outside the house when three people came towards us. We quickly went inside and I locked the door.
“Hours later two people come to the house. One was wearing a mask and they knocked on my door.
“I answered it and they were filming me on a phone. I told them to go away.
“They walked away and they started shouting what sounded like abuse.”
The family told private security firm Serco about the incidents and now guards patrol the neighbourhood around the clock.
Muhammad said he has emailed the Home Office, begging to be moved back to Stockport where the family have friends and relatives.
He said: “I am diabetic, I don’t have a GP here and the shops are miles away.
“If my bread goes out of date, what do I do? It’s a £10 taxi ride to Asda and £10 back. If I need only bread, it will cost me more than £20.
“What do I do? The Home Office gives us £295 a week for six members. Most of our money goes on taxis.
“This is no good for us this place. It’s too rural. I have diabetes and back pain.
The family say people have tried to intimidate them since moving in (Image: undefined)
“We now have security guards outside but we don’t feel safe. We don’t want to be here.
“It is not suitable for us, it is too far for jobs, shops and schools.
“We’ve been here 15 days and we stay inside most of the time.
“My kids say ‘father can we go outside and play’ but I don’t let them in case they are abused or threatened.
“We left Pakistan because of threats to our family and now we have it here.
The family say they don’t feel safe (Image: undefined)
“We can’t go to the park, we’re scared. The mobile signal is no good so the police gave me an alarm.
“We pull the strap if there are any problems and the police or security come. They gave my daughter a small one.
“I’m too scared for anyone to see my face. My son loves football but he can’t play with them.”
Muhammad says he now sleeps in the front room to protect his family from yobs.
Stock Heath beyond the new build estate (Image: undefined)
He added: “I’m sleeping most of the time here, by the front window.
“But I’m not sleeping, most of the time I’m looking left right, left right.”
Despite struggling to settle in the village, Muhammad said he was determined not to return to Pakistan.
He said: “We left Pakistan because of family problems. Some people have been tortured.
Muhammad accepts the house would be a better fit for a local family (Image: undefined)
“Pakistan is not safe, some people try to blackmail me. We want to stay in the UK where we were building a life and paying our way.
“We don’t want to be stuck in a new house which could be a home for a local family from the village.
“We just want to get on with our lives like everybody else.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced that asylum seekers will not be housed in modern developments in the future. However the rule change comes too late for Stoke Heath.