National newpaper claims Herefordshire is 'fed up' with migrant workers (From Hereford Times)

The Daily Mail claims Herefordshire is 'fed up' with migrant workers

8:40am Friday 27th July 2012 in News By Paul Broome

The Daily Mail has provoked angry reactions in Herefordshire after running an article which claims tensions are rising between local people and eastern Europeans.

The national newspaper claimed there have been complaints made against migrant workers in Leominster .

But the town’s mayor has dismissed the story and defended the contribution that the immigrants have made to the county.

Councillor Peter McCaull, whose partner Daliute is Lithuanian, said the newspaper’s attitude is “old hat”.

He is a member of the S&A and Brierley community local liaison committee and says the group has come across no recent problems.

The Mail’s report on Eastern European workers in the county  featured a road sign near Hereford that had been vandalised with the message: ‘Welcome to Poland’.

The article, which appeared online last week, included a quote saying residents are frustrated that “Poles are taking over the area”.

It was accompanied by a photo with the caption stating: “People have complained about eastern European migrant workers walking around Leominster.”

Daily Mail - 'Hereford residents alter city signpost'

• Inspector Nick Semper from West Mercia Police said officers believed the defaced road signs were the work of a prankster as opposed to someone with political motives.

He said there has been “no apparent rise in community tension within our communities as a result”, adding that witnesses should contact them.