Family Left Devastated and Living in Fear After Shocking Images Show What Angry People Did to Their Home Because They Believed Asylum Seekers Were Living There

Families living in Salford, Greater Manchester, are now afraid for their safety after a series of attacks on homes believed to be housing asylum seekers. Some people have had their windows smashed, their cars damaged and their houses covered with spray paint. The situation has become so serious that at least one family has been forced to leave their home.

The attacks are believed to be linked to anger over houses being used to accommodate asylum seekers and migrants. However, some of the people targeted have nothing to do with asylum accommodation. They are ordinary residents who have lived in the area for many years.

According to reports, groups of masked people have been moving around neighbourhoods, damaging properties they believe are Houses in Multiple Occupation, commonly known as HMOs.

An HMO is usually a property where at least three people from different households live together and share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. These houses can be occupied by students, workers and other tenants. Some are also used to accommodate asylum seekers.

In recent months, the Government and private companies have increasingly used shared houses as an alternative to hotels for accommodating asylum seekers.

However, this has caused anger among some residents, and several properties in Salford have become targets of vandalism.

Some people have also been posting videos on social media showing addresses they claim are being used to house migrants. Following these posts, some of the properties have reportedly been attacked.

Greater Manchester Police said they were investigating 46 reports of criminal damage since October 5. Many of the attacks happened at night, when residents were either sleeping or inside their homes.

One of the people affected is a 56-year-old black father who has lived in Little Hulton, Salford, for nine years.

The man, who did not want his name published, said he was sleeping on October 13 when his son suddenly entered his bedroom at around 7.30pm.

His son told him that some men were outside smashing their windows.

When the father went to see what was happening, he discovered that someone had thrown a brick through his living room window. The attackers had also written “No HMO” on the glass.

But the house was not an HMO, and the family had been living there peacefully for years.

The father lives with his four grown-up children. Three of them have jobs, while the fourth is studying at university.

Speaking about the attack, he said: “This is not a HMO. I’ve lived here for nine years.”

He explained that he was asleep when his son woke him up and told him that people were smashing their windows.

The father said he did not even know what HMO meant before the attack.

He described the experience as shocking and said it had completely changed how he felt about living in the neighbourhood.

According to him, he struggled emotionally for several days after the incident because he had never experienced anything like it before.

He said he had never caused problems for anyone and normally spent his time going to work and returning home.

But since the attack, he has become frightened whenever he hears an unusual noise outside.

The man said: “I’m scared now. If I hear any noise, I feel like I’m not safe.”

He also questioned why someone would attack his home simply because they believed he was a foreigner or an asylum seeker.

He explained that he and his sons work and pay taxes, just like many other people living in Britain.

He said that if anyone suspects someone is living in the country illegally, they should report their concerns to the police rather than attacking innocent people.

A neighbour reportedly saw two men riding a bicycle near the property, but they had disappeared before the father came outside.

The incident is one of several attacks that have left people across Salford worried about what could happen next.

In another part of the city, an 85-year-old woman named Kathleen Bradbury has been left living next door to a property with boarded-up windows after it was attacked.

Kathleen has lived in Lower Broughton for 48 years and said she was disgusted by what had happened.

She explained that she had never even heard of an HMO before the recent incidents.

The pensioner said the damage had made the neighbourhood feel unpleasant and that she now preferred to remain inside her home.

She said: “It’s disgusting. I just keep myself inside. It’s not very nice.”

Kathleen also spoke about how much her neighbourhood had changed over the years.

She remembered a time when the area had a beautiful park with a bandstand and a small lake, where residents could enjoy spending time.

Now, she said, things are very different.

In Kersal, another part of Salford, several properties have also been damaged.

At one house on Shirley Avenue, attackers wrote “No HMO” across a white front door using black spray paint.

The walls were also covered in paint, while two front windows were completely smashed.

Neighbours said the property was empty at the time and explained that many of the attacks in the area appeared to happen during the night.

Workers near a row of shops in Kersal also reported that a severed pig’s head had been left outside another damaged property.

The discovery added to concerns about the nature of the attacks and the messages the people responsible were trying to send.

One delivery worker who lives nearby described the neighbourhood as a place where people from different backgrounds live together.

He said many families live in the area and that incidents like these are upsetting for residents.

However, not everyone in the neighbourhood feels the same way about the growing number of shared houses.

A 64-year-old woman named Mandy, who has lived in Kersal for 54 years, expressed frustration about HMOs appearing in the area.

She complained about the cost of living and claimed that asylum seekers were receiving free support while some long-term residents were struggling to pay their bills.

Mandy said she could barely afford to turn on her heating because of the high cost.

When asked whether she was worried about the attacks, she said she had her own problems to deal with.

Government housing figures suggest that Salford had more than 3,000 HMOs during 2024 and 2025.

The local council has already introduced stricter planning rules to prevent too many shared houses from being concentrated in one neighbourhood.

Under the rules, applications for new HMOs are normally refused if they would result in more than one in ten homes within approximately 300 feet being shared properties.

Despite these measures, concerns about asylum accommodation and shared housing have continued.

Police are now investigating whether some adults have been encouraging or using children to carry out the attacks.

Witnesses have reported seeing masked young people riding bicycles near some of the damaged properties.

A 13-year-old boy was previously arrested on suspicion of criminal damage but was later released on police bail.

Two other men, aged 46 and 39, were arrested on October 19 and were also released on bail.

Police later arrested a 33-year-old man in Salford on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

Officers believe some of the incidents may have been motivated by racial or religious hatred.

Chief Superintendent Marcus Noden said police were treating the attacks extremely seriously.

He explained that officers were working to identify those responsible, including anyone suspected of using children to carry out the damage.

The attacks have also raised concerns among local politicians and council officials.

Councillor Barbara Bentham, who is responsible for community safety at Salford City Council, condemned the incidents.

She said there was no place for criminal damage, particularly when people’s homes were being targeted.

She also stressed that everyone living in Salford had the right to feel safe in their own home, regardless of their background.

Salford City Council has warned that false information about HMOs is being shared on social media.

The council said it was working with landlords and providing information to help residents understand what shared houses are and how they operate.

The incidents come during a period of growing tension over asylum accommodation across Britain.

In recent months, protests have taken place outside hotels being used to house asylum seekers, with some residents raising concerns about immigration, housing and the impact on local communities.

In a separate incident in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, firefighters were called to a fire at a former sheltered housing building that had been planned for use as accommodation for asylum-seeking mothers and babies.

The building was expected to provide 26 bedspaces.

Meanwhile, in Salford, the continuing attacks have left some families worried about whether their homes could be targeted next.

For the 56-year-old father whose windows were smashed, the experience has been particularly upsetting because he had lived peacefully in the same house for almost a decade.

He said he had always worked, supported his family and avoided trouble, but now feels unsafe in the place he has called home for nine years.

Police are urging anyone with information about the attacks to come forward.

Residents can contact Greater Manchester Police on 101 or provide information anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Authorities say they are continuing their investigations and are determined to identify those responsible for the damage and intimidation.