A High Court ruling has opened the door for councils nationwide to challenge the use of hotels accommodating asylum seekers, as the government scrambles for alternatives with fresh protests expected.

Officials from the Epping Forest District Council asked a judge to issue an order to temporarily block migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, due to “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption” over asylum-seeker accommodation.

Holly Whitbread, a Conservative councillor, said the Home Office appeal was "deeply disappointing" adding: "The government keep churning out the line that they're going to get all the hotels closed by the end of this Parliament - our community can't afford to wait another four years."