Five arrested over 'refugee' gunfight

Five men have been arrested and another is being hunted by armed police after a gunfight between suspected rival gangs of asylum seekers.

The clash in Ashford, Kent, left three people injured, including two suffering gunshot wounds. Officers are still looking for a sixth man they believe is armed and "holed up" in a house.

The shooting, which follows a string of stabbings at the Red Cross Centre in Sangatte, France, took place in a house on an industrial estate near a refugee holding centre in South Ashford at 6.45 last night.

The five in custody, who do not speak English, are being questioned through interpreters. The Immigration Service has been alerted.

A Kent Police spokesman said: "There was an altercation between five men in a house and shots were fired. We are still trying to determine exactly what happened. Fortunately no one outside the group was hurt by the shots. The group could well be asylum seekers.

"We are still looking for one of the offenders who we believe has a gun. We believe he is holed up somewhere."

The gunfight comes after police warned of a fierce ongoing struggle between Eastern European gangs for control of the lucrative drug and sex trade in London and parts of the South-East.

Two weeks ago, a similar shoot-out between Albanian gangs in north London saw passers-by run for cover as four men ambushed another group at a car showroom in daylight. The latest violence is likely to heighten tensions among Kent residents who have complained their communities are being threatened by refugees entering Britain illegally from the Continent.

Jill Casebourne, of the Kent Refugee Action Network, said: "It's very distressing, but at least nobody was killed. Whenever anything like this happens it has a very bad impact on local attitudes to refugees and asylum seekers. These incidents are very rare."

Ashford is near Dollands Moor freight yard, a regular entry-point for illegal immigrants who cross the Channel on trains from France.

The town has witnessed a surge in the number of asylum seekers - mostly young men - being moved to the area from ports such as Dover as part of the Government's redistribution programme.

In recent months, pressure from local communities has forced ministers to take a stand against immigrants abusing the asylum system to come to Britain to work. In June, Home Secretary David Blunkett struck a deal with the French government to close the controversial Sangatte camp, near Calais, where tensions between Kosovan and Albanian factions have led to riots.

As part of the deal, Britain will contribute towards the £4 million cost of a beefed-up security fence around the freight terminal at Frethun, near Calais, where hundreds of asylum seekers try each week to stow away on trains for Kent.