This year, the London borough of Hillingdon joyously marked its 60th anniversary with a series of community events, including picnics, treasure hunts, and exhibitions that celebrated its rich history. Known for its diverse population, with Heathrow Airport at its core, Hillingdon has long been a vibrant and multicultural part of the city.

However, recent challenges have cast a shadow over the borough’s celebratory spirit. An escalating asylum system crisis in Britain has put significant financial strain on the council, pushing it towards the brink of bankruptcy and stirring growing unrest among residents.

Tragedy struck this week in Uxbridge, one of Hillingdon’s largest suburban areas, when 49-year-old Wayne Broadhurst was fatally stabbed while walking his dog. The incident sent shockwaves through the community, as the suspect, an Afghan asylum seeker, is also accused of attacking a 45-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.

This violent episode has intensified the existing tensions in a borough that has become a focal point in the national asylum debate. Hillingdon currently accommodates up to 3,000 asylum seekers, nearly 10% of all migrants placed in hotels across the UK, making it one of the country’s prominent asylum hotspots.

The husband was allegedly attacked by an Afghan asylum seeker, who is also accused of stabbing a 45-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.

The tragedy comes in the wake of angry protests in what has become one of Britain’s asylum hotspots – home to up to 3,000 asylum seekers and nearly one in 10 of all migrants housed in hotels across the country.

Figures released earlier this year showed Hillingdon housed the most asylum seekers per head of any UK local authority – 97 per 10,000 people.

Council leaders say the cash-strapped council has now reached breaking point.

Hillingdon is legally required to house those who come through Heathrow and present themselves as homeless, and in recent years it has seen its housing bill soar to £18million.

The crisis has been fuelled by a growing influx of families from the Chagos Islands flying into the UK under a deal struck by Sir Keir Starmer.

This week saw bloodshed as Wayne Broadhurst, 49, was stabbed to death as he walked his dog in Uxbridge, one of Hillingdon’s largest suburban towns 

The Prime Minister handed control of the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius in May after 161 years of British rule, in a deal that was heavily criticised for compromising the security of a military base that will remain on the islands.

Since July 2024, more than 600 people of Chagossian descent have arrived in the borough. This has prompted the council to demand extra support from the government, which only funds the first 10 days for new arrivals.

This comes on top of the £5 million-a-year authority – which has been forced to make £34 million in cuts to its budget this year – pays out to support asylum seekers placed in the borough by the Home Office.

Once migrants are given leave to remain by the government, they are effectively ‘evicted’ from hotels, leaving the council legally responsible for looking after them as homeless.

The policy has left taxpayers footing the bill leaving local services in crisis while also funding the extravagant lifestyles of asylum tycoons running private firms contracted by the Home Office to operate hotels.

As the crisis unfolded, Ian Edwards, Conservative leader of Hillingdon Council, said: ‘The council is proud of upholding its statutory duty in supporting asylum seekers and providing safe sanctuary.

‘However, the inadequate funding for our asylum and immigration responsibilities is placing an unfair financial burden on our residents, who are having to subsidise these additional costs.

‘This is unacceptable, and it is unreasonable of the government to expect that the cost incurred should be met by our taxpayers alone while companies contracted by the Home Office to provide accommodation have profited by hundreds of millions of pounds collectively.

‘The Home Office also cannot expect the council to have the staffing and resources to deal with these exceptional demand pressures and our support services to cope without detriment to those already requiring them.

‘We want to provide support to those who need it, but the way local government is funded is fundamentally broken and in desperate need of an overhaul.

‘We are urging the government to act and recognise our unique position as a port authority, the challenges that are associated with that, and provide the funding we require.’

Mini ‘tent cities’ have previously been seen springing up in Hillingdon 

The burden has led to a ‘significant increase’ in rough sleeping in the borough, which earlier this year saw tented communities’ springing up in parks and under bridges which officials have been hard-pressed to tackle. 

Finding itself on the frontline of the asylum crisis has sparked angry protests that have divided the community – with many locals complaining they now fear for their safety while feeling ‘taken advantage of’ by the government.

This has only been heightened by the tragic events of this week.

Among those to voice their concerns was anti-knife crime campaigner Roy Grant, 59.

After laying flowers at the scene of the stabbing in sleepy Midhurst Gardens, Mr Grant, who has lived in the area his entire life, told the Daily Mail: ‘I’ve seen a dramatic change here over the past 18 months with the advent of migrant hotels.

‘There’s one at the end of the road where I live. It’s horrible. It has led to serious tensions.

‘Migrants walk the streets with groups of four, six, eight, all wearing the same tracksuit bottoms and trainers.

‘They go into local shops and help themselves to whatever they want. When they are challenged, they abuse staff.

‘They abuse women and kids at bus stops. It has created a lot of anger. There has been a breakdown of community trust and cohesion.

‘Our local authority is going bankrupt and housing migrants costs a lot of money. All extra resources are going towards looking after these new people.’

Mr Grant, who campaigns for the Save a Life Ditch the Knife initiative, has called for action from the government to make residents feel safer.

He said: ‘I’ve got immigrant friends. There’s been immigrants in this country for decades and there has never been tensions like there are now.

‘West Indians, Sikhs, have lived alongside us for years and they contribute but things are different with illegal immigrants.

‘I see these people being put up in hotels, being fed and clothed, while local people are struggling to get homed. It’s out of order.

‘We need to get control of our borders back. If not, I dread to think what will happen.’

Roy Grant, who campaigns for the Save a Life Ditch the Knife initiative, has called for action from the government to make residents feel safer

A Sikh shopkeeper also placed a bouquet of flowers next to a sea of floral tributes and notes left to Mr Broadhurst, who was a regular customer.

He said: ‘This area is like a big residential estate. It’s almost semi-rural. It’s not that urban so we’re not really used to this type of crime happening.

‘We’ve had a shop here for 50 years now, but in the last few years things have changed. There’s a lot of people who we don’t know.

‘We are noticing a lot of crime, a lot of theft. Slow, slow, slowly we are seeing a negative impact.

‘Everyone will have their own speculation as to why crime is going up here but everyone knows why. It will only get worse.’

He added: ‘I served Wayne every day. I saw him the day before he was killed. He was a really nice guy, and very gentle. He wouldn’t even kill an ant.’

In nearby West Drayton, also part of Hillingdon, local residents said their lives have been blighted by migrants living at the Crowne Plaza hotel, a once-grand establishment catering for air travellers from around the world.

Father-of-two Jamie Sharp, 35, said: ‘Hillingdon is already full and more people come each day.

‘Some of the guests are taking in large TVs because the ones they’ve been given aren’t good enough. Where is this money coming from? It’s shocking.

‘They all sit outside schools and roam freely with no proper background checks. It is illegal immigration. It’s an offence and you should be nicked.

‘When they come here, there’s no respect for women at all. They don’t see us as normal people.’

Other locals also spoke of services being overwhelmed, claiming it is an issue that has been exacerbated by the newcomers.

Wayne Broadhurst (pictured) died during the triple stabbing on Midhurst Gardens, Uxbridge. An Afghan national who arrived in the UK in a lorry five years ago has been charged

One woman, 39, said amid her struggles with the council to find a place to live she was placed in a packed house in multiple occupation (HMO) alongside all foreign men.

This week Councillor Steve Tuckwell, Hillingdon’s cabinet member for Planning, Housing and Growth, said: ‘Inadequate funding for our asylum and immigration responsibilities by the government is placing an unfair financial burden on residents, who are having to subsidise these additional costs as a result of increasing evictions from Home Office accommodation with the expectation that the council will provide support.

‘Soaring demand for services and significant underfunding by government for several years is creating unsustainable financial pressures for the council, and these have been further intensified by increasing demands to support former asylum seekers, as well as Chagossians arriving via Heathrow Airport.

‘While we’re proud of upholding our lawful requirements in providing safe sanctuary, the government needs to understand the scale and unique challenges facing Hillingdon.

‘We’re paying £5million annually to support former asylum seekers, and there is an added annual cost of £2million to support Chagossians.”

Local Tory MP David Simmonds, who represents Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said Labour’s policies had worsened the crisis.

He said: ‘Asylum costs have become a huge issue locally since the Labour government started giving refugees rights to housing locally more quickly, dumping them at Hillingdon’s door in a way that didn’t happen before.

‘It’s not fair for local people to pay the costs of government failure.’