A CHURCH minister has condemned the system for dealing with asylum seekers as 'evil' -- and his call for change has been backed by a national conference.

Darwen Methodist Church minister The Rev Terry Young called for a complete overhaul, saying political refugees coming to England were suffering.

Mr Young, 57, from Lower Darwen, said: "The other week I visited a family who had not been paid for two weeks.

"A mother was holding her two-year-old baby and the first thing she said was: 'I don't have enough money to feed my child.'

"A lot of people feel isolated and very alone and to have situations like this in Britain in the 21st Century, I think it's disgraceful and it's a very evil system."

The methodist superintendent within Darwen Churches Partnership for six years, was speaking in front of 300 representatives from Methodist churches across the country at a conference at Llandudno.

He said: "I put forward a resolution that the system should be changed and it was agreed by the majority of the representatives.

"We need drop-in centres for asylum seekers and we need a better system set up whereby they receive the money and the treatment they deserve.

"I appreciate that there are a few people that are here for the ride but the majority are genuine and want to work but we are not giving them the opportunities.

"These people have fled desperate circumstances but our system is letting them down.

"Asylum is a major issue in Blackburn with Darwen, mainly because people don't accept asylum seekers. The number has dropped recently so it's not as big of a problem as it was last year.

"We have more political refugees living in this area than others but that doesn't mean we shouldn't accept them."

There are 660 asylum seekers in the borough, compared to 894 last September. The resolution, passed on Wednesday, will be sent to the Home Office.

"It is thought that the conference represents around 1.5 million methodists across the country.

Mr Young said: "It will be passed on and they should listen to what we are saying because of the large amount of people we represent."

The conference is scheduled to finish on Saturday afternoon.