AN asylum seeker has been found with 'unsafe and inappropriate items' in his room at the Greenock hotel requisitioned by the UK Government to deal with a surge in applications.

The items — the precise detail of which are being kept secret — were removed from the man shortly after their discovery at the town's Holiday Inn Express, it is understood.

But the find is shrouded in mystery after the company contracted to oversee operations at the hotel repeatedly refused to answer a series of questions about the matter.

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Glasgow Times:

Sources had told our sister newspaper the Greenock Telegraph that the man had flammable liquid and knives in his room.

This claim was put directly to contractor Mears for the company and it chose not to respond to this specific request for clarity.

However, it is understood that the asylum seeker had items to use for cooking which were not considered by Mears staff to be either safe or appropriate.

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Mears was repeatedly asked to state specifically what the items were but the contractor refused to provide any details.

They also declined to say whether any further course of action had been taken in relation to the matter by health professionals and/or the police.

The newspaper revealed earlier this month that the Holiday Inn Express was to be used to accommodate asylum seekers while their claims are being processed.

The plan came to light when people who had tried to book rooms there were told none were available because the hotel has been booked out for the next 18 months.

The UK Government had been liaising with Inverclyde Council over the hotel takeover and official local authority papers state that rooms are being used to accommodate men seeking asylum.

Two asylum seekers staying at the hotel were attacked and robbed while walking in the east end of Greenock a fortnight ago

Currently around 50 asylum seekers are being accommodated at the Holiday Inn Express, with plans in place to house up to 71 adult men there in the future.

Inverclyde Council and Police Scotland declined to comment on the discovery of the items deemed as unsafe and inappropriate.

A spokesperson for Mears — which specialises in providing housing and social care — said: "A service user at the hotel had items in his room which he explained were used for cooking barbecues outside the hotel site.

"Staff explained that for safety reasons these should not be kept in the room and they were removed.

"They will be returned when the service user moves from the hotel.

"No danger was presented to others at the hotel site.

"Records are kept of interactions with service users and our records are shared with the Home Office.

"Our service users have a right to respect and privacy and we do not provide personal information on individuals."