TEN more asylum seekers have arrived in Blackburn -- just days after it was revealed several families were attacked by local people.

Council bosses confirmed the new asylum seekers arrived in the town late on Tuesday evening after travelling from London.

Nine men and one woman have now been placed in homes set aside for asylum seekers across the borough, which already houses 30 asylum-seeking families.

The new arrivals will spend up to six months in the area before finding out whether they are allowed to stay in Britain permanently, or whether they will have to go back to the country they came from.

Nationalities of all the asylum seekers have not been released, although several are believed to be Iranian.

The new arrivals come just days after it was revealed an Algerian man, a Polish family and a Lebanese family all had to be moved from the Brookway area of Livesey, after being attacked by people who are said to have terrorised the estate for years.

The incident, which happened a month ago, is still believed to be a one off.

Councillors have now backed calls for the asylum laws to be changed to allow people to work as soon as they get into the country.

"This would allow us to tap into their useful skills which we may be lacking in this country," said Coun Maureen Bateson, whose citizens' rights and consumer affairs portfolio includes asylum seekers.

Steve Geldard, who runs the borough's asylum support team, said: "Ten arrived on Tuesday and have been settled in.

"We will be visiting them over the next few days to find out what help they need and pointing them in the right direction for the services they require."

Assistant director of Rights, Advice and Entitlement, Miranda Carruthers-Watt, said it was important myths were dispelled to stop tension being fuelled unnecessarily.

She said: "The money we use to support the asylum seekers has come from central government.

"It is not money which would otherwise have been spent on other services. It is money we would not have had.

"The new asylum seekers have been placed in some of 125 homes we have set aside for asylum seekers in the borough.

"They are sparsely furnished, again using money which has come from the Government."