More asylum seekers are living in Government-funded accommodation in Yorkshire than anywhere else in the country, new figures have revealed.

Figures released by the Home Office last night showed nearly 7,500 asylum seekers are in the accommodation - more than a fifth of the entire number in the UK.

Of the region's 22 per cent of the asylum population living in the "dispersal accommodation" - 745 are in Bradford.

A further 240 are placed in Calderdale, 780 in Kirklees and 2,015 in Leeds.

Shipley Conservative MP Philip Davies hit out at the figures saying people struggling to be housed were being forced to vote for the right-wing extremist British National Party.

He said: "I get so many letters from people who cannot be housed and it is no wonder they are angry.

"I have no problem and I do not know anyone who would have a problem with someone who genuinely was fleeing persecution. But most will be bogus asylum seekers.

"This is why people vote BNP. The asylum system in the country is a complete shambles. It is not about the cultural make-up of the area but about the pressure it puts on local services.

"We cannot pussy-foot around the subject but now need to do something about it."

In addition to the 7,500, a further 335 asylum seekers are living in the region outside of state-funded homes on "subsistence only" benefits.

Immigration minister Liam Byrne said: "We have seen in the year so far more failed asylum seekers being removed than predicted unfounded asylum claims, but there is more still do."

According to the Home Office, nationally the number of failed asylum seekers deported from Britain fell by 28 per cent.

Figures show there were 3,635 people, including dependants, deported between July and September, significantly lower than the 5,070 in the previous three-month period.

The Home Office said it was the lowest quarterly figure since the second quarter of 2004.

Asylum applications for the year to date were the lowest since 1993, at just under 17,800.

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