Women in the Oxfordshire village of Piddington are seeking self-defence classes over fears of sex attacks, amid Home Office plans to house more than 1,250 male migrants at a neighbouring former Ministry of Defence site.
The village, home to just 350 men, women and children, could be outnumbered nearly four-to-one under the proposal to convert the former MoD Bicester depot into accommodation, mostly for fighting-age asylum seeker men. It is understood the base could house migrants for at least the next decade.
Residents express heightened anxiety
Teacher and resident Samantha Phillips, 61, said: “Nobody is going to hear you scream out here. Women in the village like to walk their dogs in the field which is next to where they want the migrant camp to be, the nearest house is quarter a mile away.
“We are looking into self-defence classes for the women in the village, and the children and men, anxiety is really heightened.
“We’re not being over-reactive, we’ve seen the Home Office leaflet. It’s going 10 men to one woman in the village and that raises an instant concern.”
Ms Phillips said residents could also be forced to carry alarms and whistles and may have to install CCTV on the quiet village lanes.
Community impact and local concerns
Parish councillor Tim McNally revealed there are just two police officers covering 46 villages in the local area.
He said: “It’s a realisation that children who would normally be able to walk around hand-in-hand in the village won’t be able to do that anymore. It will also impact the elderly as they become more isolated, the community will be shut down effectively.”
The MoD base near Piddington has a fence running directly adjacent to Jubilee Nature Reserve, a playing field used by local youngsters and a popular dog walking spot.
Reform UK response
Reform UK spokesman Zia Yusuf said: “It clearly is the case that this Labour government is directly endangering women and girls in this area.”
Mr Yusuf became the first mainstream politician to visit Piddington and meet directly with residents. He told the Sunday Express that if Reform took control in Westminster, they would go after the companies making millions from contracts to run migrant camps and HMOs.
“This is ground-zero now for the invasion of Britain,” Mr Yusuf said.
“I can’t think what kind of Prime Minister, what kind of a government, does this to its own people.
“The numbers are insane, around 350 people live in this quiet idyllic village, and the government website literally states they want to put 1,250 adult men here.
“These men are mostly from countries like Eritrea, Sudan and Afghanistan, these are exactly the people the Home Office have been handing pamphlets to trying to train them that having sex with children is not allowed.
“We know that Afghan’s are 20% more likely to be convicted of a sex offence than British citizens, Sudan is not far behind.”
He added: “When Andy Burnham came in, he was all about devolution wasn’t he?
“Giving local residents the power to determine what happens. Well, except apparently when it comes to having 1,250 men dumped into your tiny village.
“Under a Reform government, places like this will be high-priority, none of these illegal migrants will get to wander around, they will all be detained and they are going to be removed and go back to countries from which they came.
“We will also hold accountable the people who are responsible for doing this, whether it’s ministers or officials, or the big private contractors.
“It’s a dishonest way to make money, it’s horrific.”
Local resistance and broader context
Local residents of Piddington have been galvanised in their defence against the migrant base plans, with 96% voting in favour of a symbolic referendum to leave the UK on July 4. The tiny hamlet has made headlines all over the world, and villagers have just released a single titled “Battle for Britain” which is streaming on music site Spotify.
Mr Yusuf added: “People’s lives are being turned upside down in places like Piddington, in their own country.
“This isn’t Vladimir Putin doing this to these people, it’s their own government.
“The Piddington situation defines our country right now, the absolute disgusting and indecent betrayal of hard-working British people who are left powerless, first under 14 years of Tory rule, and now with Labour who seem to govern for everybody except the people of this great country.”
Some 16,391 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year. In a latest tragedy, one migrant died and three others were injured after the French coastguard responded to a vessel in difficulty off Gravelines, near Calais, overnight Thursday into Friday last week. The French coastguard said a rescue vessel was monitoring a boat and picked up 72 migrants who were requesting assistance. The crew found one person on the boat who needed CPR and a rescue helicopter was dispatched, but the migrant was pronounced dead.
It came after 494 migrants arrived in the UK on Thursday, the first to successfully cross the Channel in 10 days. The seven boats that made the crossing were the first since August 17 when 250 people arrived.
