THE number of asylum seekers living in Southampton has fallen, according to newly released figures.

Official statistics show the city was home to 480 refugees in March - the second highest number in the south-east outside London.

This is compared to 565 in December 2003 - a drop of 85.

Latest Home Office figures show Southampton has 360 people living in houses, flats and hotel rooms paid for by the National Asylum Seekers Service (NASS).

Another 120 receive only cash for food, clothes and travel.

People have been taken by bus to Southampton shortly after arriving in Britain after fleeing conflict-torn and poverty-stricken countries, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nationally, the number of applications by asylum seekers - including dependants such as children and spouses - in the first three months of the year was 10,585. This is down from 13,150 in October to December 2003.

The number of failed asylum seekers removed from the UK rose one per cent to 3,320 - a 27 per cent increase on the same period last year. Including dependants, the number of people removed was 4,085.

The number of people applying for British citizenship rose by 21 per cent to 139,315 during 2003.

A Home Office spokesman said the number of cases awaiting initial decisions was now at its lowest for a decade, at 18,100.

Officials said numbers were dropping because of better border controls in France and tough new government rules including restricting handouts.

Earlier this year Home Secretary David Blunkett unveiled new measures to tackle the problem.

These included plans to open a removal centre near Heathrow Airport, reaching agreements with authorities in Iraq, Sri Lanka and China to return failed asylum seekers, and agreeing to extend UK border controls to Belgian Channel ports and Eurostar trains from Brussels.

The figures were published as a National Audit Office report confirmed they were "in most respects reliable" after a probe into claims the statistics were massaged by relaxing immigration rules.

Tony Blair claimed the figures showed "the dramatic progress we made last year when we halved asylum applications has continued".

Speaking at his monthly press conference, the Prime Minister said: "Abuse of the asylum system is a problem that is being gripped and today's figures show the reality of that."