THE owners of a Fareham hostel for refugees and the homeless have hit back at police claims that plans to expand the facility would cause more crime in the area.

The row erupted after owner Daphne Downes applied to the council to extend the Hinton Hotel in Catisfield, pictured, to accommodate disabled residents.

Fareham planners turned the application down last month after police claimed there had been a rise in the number of offences associated with residents at the hotel since 1997.

But Miss Downes has criticised the claims, insisting her staff have a responsible attitude to crime.

She said: "We have a very strict zero tolerance attitude to any sort of crime and when I or my staff are made aware of it we report it.

"That makes us responsible members of the community but obviously it means that more offences are reported.

"We feel very unfairly treated as a lot of the work we do is in conjunction with the police and the council and neither are supporting us."

She added: "Some of our residents are very upset at the letters of complaints the council received and feel it is part of a wider prejudice about refugees and homeless people."

Miss Downes claims the manner in which the matter was rejected was also questionable.

She said: "The letter from the police was paraphrased at the meeting, which I don't think was fair. Neither was it discussed that the plans were to accommodate disabled people at the hotel."

The matter will come before councillors again next week when details of a second letter written by Insp Diana Boyles will be discussed.

Insp Boyles has written to the council clarifying the comments and says she stands by the figures that show "residents of the hotel are having an impact on the local community and that impact is measurable."

Council planning spokesman David Swanbrow said: "We did reject the application on a number of grounds and the police comments were only a factor in the overall decision."

Miss Downes has lodged an appeal with the government.