Refugee child watches on as 'send them home' flag waves outside
PLUS: Skeleton found on Cleveleys beach
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
A protest in Blackpool at the weekend passed almost entirely without incident - despite one headline from a local news source pointing to clashes between protestors and punks that has been unpopular from both sides of the debate.
But one image that shows a refugee child look on as a ‘send them home’ flag waves outside has captured the imagination of the public and shows the reality inside the hotel isn’t quite what people fear it to be.
The photographer of the image believes it is one frustrated, powerless set of people being pitched against another powerless set of people. He speaks to us in today’s edition.
We also report on a whole skeleton being washed up on Cleveleys beach. Human remains on the beach is not unusual in itself - but it is rather rare in this instance.
In-person conversation the only way to counter ‘toxic, war-like’ coverage of refugees
By Luke Beardsworth
A protest in Blackpool at the weekend passed mostly without incident, The Blackpool Lead can reveal.
People concerned about the presence of asylum seekers, including one waving a St George’s Flag saying ‘send them home’, gathered outside the Metropole Hotel on Saturday (9 August).
But in stark contrast to protests last year which resulted in a large volume of arrests and convictions after clashes between protestors and police and punks, the protest passed peacefully.
Lancashire Constabulary told The Blackpool Lead that they made one arrest at the protest - a male who was drunk and disorderly.
An image captured at the protest showing a refugee child peering out of the window at the protestors, some of whom were upset at the presence of ‘fighting age men’ within the hotel.
Rob Gomm, 40 and from Layton, who attended the protest to have ‘good conversations’ with those who are concerned, believes the conversation around refugees in the UK as a whole has turned toxic.
He told The Blackpool Lead: “I'm supportive of refugees, especially changing the toxic narrative around them and I also understand why people in Blackpool would feel very let down by successive governments including this one.”
The exact demographics of those within The Metropole have never been made clear, other than that there are people of all ages, genders, entry routes and nationalities within the hotel.
One whistleblower who spoke to The Blackpool Lead recently said that the perception that those inside are living a holiday lifestyle is very wide of the mark.
Rob added: “I think there's a perception that all asylum hotels are full of young men and so must be the Metropole but it isn't.
“It has many families and many young children, some of whom have learned to walk while living there.
“The image shows years of failure on asylum policy alongside misplaced, misinformed anger by powerless, frustrated people against another group of powerless, frustrated people.”
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Efforts to identify human skeleton washed up on beach continue
By Michael Holmes
Investigators are continuing their efforts to identify human remains found on the beach at Cleveleys.
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