The Home Office has said a Crystal Palace hotel that was packed full of asylum seekers should not be used to house them in the future.

It comes six weeks after people living nearby raised concerns and Croydon Council’s housing enforcement team discovered overcrowding at the Queens Hotel in Church Road.

Inspectors found one of the buildings had 500 people sleeping in it and another building, which is supposed to accommodate 68, had 100 people in it.

There were more than four people living in en-suite rooms and they found one room was occupied by nine people.

And Croydon North MP Steve Reed said he received complaints from people living nearby about noise, intimidation and anti-social behaviour by the asylum seekers in the hotel.

He wrote to the Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire MP about the issue last month.

The letter included his concerns about overcrowding, the cost to the taxpayer of paying for the hotel and the impact on the lives of people living nearby.

In the reply, received this week, Mr Brokenshire said companies that provide accommodation for asylum seekers on behalf of the Home Office have been told using hotels is only ever acceptable as a short-term measure.

He added: “Providers must ensure adequate consultation takes place with local authorities in the relevant areas to avoid any impact on services and minimise any social cohesion concerns.

“If concerns are raised, these will be taken into account when deciding on the appropriateness of the property for use as temporary accommodation.

“Local businesses can raise concerns through their local authority which, along with the provider, will review the continued use of the property.

“We understand that Clearsprings will not be using the Queens Hotel in the future.

“Any costs paid to the Queens Hotel is an issue that Clearsprings manages directly with the hotel.”