Plans to house 750 asylum seekers at the disused Sully hospital have caused a storm of protest.

Local people collected 500 signatures on a petition within three days.

The hospital, a listed building, is on a shortlist of eight UK sites being looked at by the Home Office to house asylum seekers by 2003.

But villagers say the news has come like "a bolt out of the blue" and is "unsuitable" for Sully Hos-pital, a former psychiatric institute which closed in March 2001.

Colette Dampier, of Conybeare Road, has helped set up the petition. The Sully Post Office worker said: "Elderly people here are really frightened as there are no amenities in Sully. They are worried the people will be wandering round the village with nothing to do. The population of Sully is only 3,400.

"What sort of people are they going to be? These people could be escaping from crime or anything.

"Local people are outraged. They say it's going to affect property value. They think it's going to have a knock-on effect. The children would have to be schooled. They'll have to use our doctors."

Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, which owns the building, says it knew nothing of the proposals.

Sully councillor Anthony Ernest is determined to fight the plans: "The fact that Ty Hafan is sited in the grounds of Sully Hospital makes the proposals even more ill-thought, especially since refugees are seen to have a poor record of respecting local people, and the facilities where they themselves are housed."

Vale MP John Smith said: "Sully Hospital remains a proposal, not a confirmed idea. I will be discussing it with the ministers involved."

Vale AM Jane Hutt said: "I will be in contact with Home Office Ministers to ensure they are fully aware of local circumstances. It's important that any sites finally chosen are suitable for the individuals and families located in them."

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