Women of Piddington plead with female MPs not to abandon them amid fears they will be outnumbered ten to one by male asylum seekers

Women in the village of Piddington have demanded answers from female MPs in an open letter, amid fears of being outnumbered ten to one by asylum seekers.

Labour is said to have drawn up plans to house up to 3,500 single male asylum seekers at a former military site near the Oxfordshire village, which is home to just 350.

Early reports suggested the Home Office had deemed a former Ministry of Defence site near Piddington and Upper Arncott could house around 1,250 migrants.

But new details, denied by the department, have revealed that number could nearly triple – with locals warning the plans would overwhelm their historic community.

Now, the Women of Piddington – a group of residents opposing the plans – have urged MPs not to abandon them.

They have written to female MPs because they fear the arrival of the predominantly male asylum seekers will leave local women feeling increasingly vulnerable and unsafe.

They wrote: 'Dear Women of Parliament, We are the Women of Piddington – and we are facing a crisis. We are 133 females living in a tiny rural community. The Government is planning to open non-detained asylum accommodation for 1,256 men right beside our village. They would outnumber us ten to one.

'As fellow women, you will understand the serious risks this will expose us to. Our safety, our security and our freedoms will be under threat. Life as we know it will be destroyed. We will not feel safe walking our streets. We are already living in fear.'

Tim McNally, 60, chair of Piddington Parish Council, said his village 'deserves the truth' about the number of asylum seekers who will be housed at the camp

The village has also announced a referendum on independence from the UK as a protest against what locals describe as ministers systematically disregarding them.

Villagers then released a protest anthem and accompanying music video titled 'Battle for Britain', an AI song made to portray the community's battle against the Home Office and comparing it to that of ordinary Brits in the Second World War.

They have repeatedly demanded that the Prime Minister scrap the housing scheme entirely.

Tim McNally, 60, chair of Piddington Parish Council, previously told the Mail his village 'deserves the truth' about the number of asylum seekers who will be housed at the camp.

'Although the proposal states 1,256 single males between the ages of 18 and 65, the service users focuses on 3,510,' he said.

'That is ten times the size of the village of Piddington. Now if that is an error, correct it. This is more than alarming. It is either deception at the greatest level or incompetence at the highest.'

Residents of Piddington, which does not have a pub or even a shop, have cried foul that the plans for the camp are 'completely inappropriate' and 'impractical'.

Melise Witkin, 59, said: 'This is not about being rich or poor, this is about safety. People have worked really hard throughout their lives to live in this village.

'We are 356 people in the village with 46 children and 1,250 men turning up is a recipe for disaster. People walk their dogs, children play, I just think it is madness.'

Husband and wife Karen and Derek Joy. Karen said villagers feel like they have been ignored and the Prime Minister has 'finally picked up on us' after they made 'noise for quite some time' 

Last month, Andy Burnham sparked criticism by saying middle-class areas should also have to house their share of asylum seekers.

He said he would make sure arrivals were not only placed in the 'poorest communities' and 'all parts of the country need to play their part'.

An analysis by the Daily Mail revealed that there are 17 local authorities with no taxpayer-supported asylum seekers.

Home Office figures showing the number of supported asylum seekers per local authority at the end of March reveal the areas that currently house no migrants are overwhelmingly rural beauty spots.

These include the Cotswolds, Derbyshire Dales, Malvern Hills, the New Forest and the Scottish Highlands.

Others include Mid Devon, East Hertfordshire, Ceredigion in west Wales and Hart, a 118-square-mile local authority taking in major towns, rural parishes and villages in Hampshire.

The Gloucestershire market town of Tewkesbury is also on the list, as are the Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Mid and East Antrim and Mid Ulster, and Na h-Eileanan Siar – an island chain off the west coast of Scotland.

The Home Office has turned to military sites as alternative accommodation as it works to end the use of migrant hotels by 2029.

The number of hotels in use has fallen to fewer than 160 from a peak of 400.

Signs in protest of the migrant camp are littered around the quaint village 

Just 16,000 are now living in hotels, down from a peak of 56,000 in September 2023. However, instead of being deported, most have been moved to alternative accommodation sites. 

A Home Office spokesman previously said: 'It is categorically untrue to suggest we are seeking to house 3,510 people at MoD Bicester.

'As our planning application clearly states, we are considering the site to accommodate up to 1,256 asylum seekers.

'The concerns of communities are central to our immigration reforms. That is why we are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites.'