A CALL for people to welcome asylum seekers into society was made by councillors and community leaders last night.

More than 30 people, mostly residents, turned up to meet those who fled to East Lancashire to escape political persecution and brutal regimes.

The meeting, at Darwen Central United Reformed Church, was prompted by a series of incidents in Blackburn and Darwen involving abuse of asylum seekers and violence between them and local people.

Hamib Chaudhuri, chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Racial Equality Council, said: "Residents are anxious and frustrated because they don't know what's going on and this is not an easy subject for anyone to confront.

"I have lived in a dozen different countries in three continents and I can say that there isn't a country on the earth that is more tolerant than Great Britain. There are instances of hostility in the borough and we need to look at treating these people as human beings not as a group because they have a lot to offer us."

Anita Dunston, staff nurse at the Darwen Health Centre, said: "I'm disgusted to call myself a Darrener to see what some of the asylum seekers go through here. I think it's disgusting.

"We are an exceptional town but because people are a different colour we don't accept them and it's not on."

Ata Arif, 39, fled his Kirkuk home in Northern Iraq just eight months ago after he was captured by Iraqi forces and tortured to near death.

Ata, who lives on Brookway in Blackburn, said: "I think a lot of the time people just don't understand the lives we've come from and that we are so grateful to be here. We have come here for a better future and we want to be together with the community."

Coun Karimeh Foster, who organised the meeting, said: "It is important for people to get things off their chest so we can start to embrace asylum seekers."

John East, district commissioner for Darwen Scout Association, said: "Darwen has a reputation for being a friendly place and we should stick to that."

Chris Seddon, from the council's education department, said; "We have around 30 children from families of asylum seekers in schools in Darwen and the only problem comes when younger children don't understand the backgrounds that the refugees come from."

A scheme to educate teenagers on asylum seekers will take place at Darwen Moorland High School in the coming months.

Andy Middlemas, assistant head of Moorland, said: "I am encouraged that people here really want to make a difference."

Coun Maureen Bateson, executive member for citizens and consumer rights, said: "We often ask young children to write about their first experiences in this country and at first it's very positive but then they start to wonder why people are calling them names and why they aren't accepted when all they want to do is fit in. "

The Rev Tamas Sugar of the Duckworth Street church said: "We need the public to open their hearts and think about what these people have been through."