A DISTURBING picture of violence, bullying and intimidation among asylum seekers in Medway has emerged at a meeting called to discuss the issue.

The Medway Council-organised meeting came close to ending in an embarrassing fiasco after a police officer produced statistics in direct contrast to those given to councillors by one of their officers. Now councillors are to ask Medway's police chief, Supt Stella Mercer, for her views on the scale of the problems.

Council policy officer Sally Morris had spent several hours assuring councillors that problems caused by asylum seekers were largely myths caused by ignorance among the local population.

She said her report was based on statistics from Medway Police. But PC Caroline Pope, a Medway Police community liaison officer, then told the meeting that:

• There were hundreds more asylum seekers in Medway than shown by official statistics.

• The number of complaints about asylum seekers was much higher than the meeting had been told.

• Violent incidents, including stabbings, were a regular occurrence.

• There was violence and bullying between different ethnic groups.

• Chatham's Pentagon Shopping Centre had become a no-go area for unaccompanied shoppers because it had become a meeting place for gangs of asylum seekers.

Also invited to the meeting were Medway head teachers, representatives of the Race Equality Council, Medway Primary Care Trust and the Sunlight Centre.

A report by officers said racism was a problem in Medway schools. Some parents had complained that schools being attended by their children were being used by children of asylum seekers. The children of these parents picked on the children of asylum seekers.