Asylum seekers living on the Bibby Stockholm have staged a protest calling for the Government to end their wait in limbo and speed up decision-making on their claims for refuge in the UK.

Stand up to Racism Dorset said around 60 to 100 people accommodated on the Home Office-run barge took part in the action, including withdrawing from meals and organising a two-hour sit-in at the site’s outside compound.

A spokesperson said almost all of the men have been waiting more than a year, and “many much longer”, to know the outcomes to decide their futures which is causing a “significant deterioration in their mental health”.

One of the men described the Bibby Stockholm as the “hell barge” amid the difficult conditions of limbo.

The spokesperson said: “Having fled from fear, persecution, and often torture in an attempt to find refuge and safety, the men wish to be able to live and work in the UK, earn their own livings, pay their own way and contribute to society by paying their taxes.

“The men very much appreciate the support they receive, but they are desperate for the asylum process to be speeded up and for their decisions to be received sooner.

“The continual ‘not knowing’ together with difficult barge living conditions is affecting some very badly.”

They said that the men are asking for more support for their declining mental health during this period.

Local people also supported the protesters by hosting a solidarity vigil outside the port.

The spokesperson added: “The men want to be able to get on with their lives, work, contribute and pay their way and ask our new Government to please help make this happen much more quickly.”

The action comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has not confirmed whether the Government would abandon use of the barge for housing asylum seekers.

The Government is setting up a fresh Border Security Command designed to crack down on people-smuggling gangs orchestrating the Channel crossings as Labour’s first priority on migration.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We take the health and wellbeing of asylum seekers seriously and at every stage in the process will seek to ensure that all needs and vulnerabilities are identified and considered, including those related to mental health and trauma.”