Council officials were only told of the move last week, days before the first of the new residents were due to arrive at the Park Hotel.

Around 60 demonstrators gathered outside the site last night to protest against the decision, shouting "we want our country back".

They were met with around 30 counter-protesters from Stand Up to Racism, holding signs that said "refugees welcome".

The protest outside of the Park Hotel in Diss on July 21 (Image: Supplied) Footage showed them initially standing on opposite sides of the road outside the hotel.

As tensions rose, some clashed with one another, with protestors crossing the road to confront the other group.

It comes at a time of growing public discontent about high levels of immigration and similar flashpoints elsewhere in the country.

And many locals fear the demonstration may set the tone for the summer, with more events already in the pipeline and community tensions rising.

One person who lives nearby, and wanted to remain unnamed, said the protests had made him more uncomfortable than the prospect of the asylum seekers moving in.

"I don't care about asylum-seeking families and or men living just next door," he added.

"Literally around the corner is the police station and if they do their job there clearly won't be any trouble - no more trouble than there already is.

"I do however care that there is talk of protests every week, as I have a young baby and we want peace and quiet.

"It also can't be nice for the people living in the hotel.

"As a liberal man, I don't know what my neighbours think, but the protests make me feel uncomfortable."

The Grade II listed Park Hotel, close to the town's mere, closed after the pandemic and has been used to house asylum seeking families - including women and children - since 2023.

The Home Office announced without warning that these residents........

© Eastern Daily Press