Asylum situation `intolerable'

London - The government yesterday admitted that Dover was overcrowded with asylum seekers

London - The government yesterday admitted that Dover was overcrowded with asylum seekers. A fairground in Dover, Kent, was the scene of sporadic skirmishes between local residents and Balkan refugees at the weekend which left five people injured, some with knife wounds.

The Home Office minister, Lord Bassam, said the situation had become "intolerable" in recent months and they were working with local and foreign authorities to solve it.

Measures under the controversial asylum and immigration bill, currently going through parliament, would also help by allowing groups of asylum seekers to be moved to other parts of the country.