REFUGEES have been seen leaving a Southend Hotel as hundreds are moved out of Essex accommodation.

According to the BBC, around 400 Afghan refugees are leaving temporary hotel accommodation in Essex this week.

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They say the families are being moved to a mixture of permanent and temporary housing, although some are having their hotel stays extended.

Many of the refugees were given settled status in the UK after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021.

The BBC claim that families have been moved from four hotels in recent days in Southend, Colchester, Chelmsford, and Harlow.

They add that refugees were leaving a Southend hotel on Tuesday.

The Home Office and Southend Council will be contacted for comment by the Echo.

More to follow.