"A woman in her thirties who lives on a street across from the hotel spoke on condition of anonymity after run-ins with hotel residents that left her feeling “intimidated.”
“I have a tree at the end of the drive which has a pool of fag butts and we see residents from the hotel just walking past and flicking them in there as they walk past. We physically see hotel residents walk past our drive and throw rubbish down our drive. A couple of months ago, my other half saw a resident walk past and spit on our drive.”
“I have put the bins out on an evening, especially in the winter when it is dark and you get groups of men walking past saying ‘hello madame’ and it is really intimidating."
Copthorne sits on the doorstep of Gatwick Airport, where hotels once used to house travellers have become accommodation for asylum seekers.
www.express.co.uk