RESIDENTS of Sittingbourne have made a last-ditch impassioned plea to the Government not to use the Coniston Hotel as an asylum seeker induction centre.

In a letter to the Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes and Home Secretary David Blunkett ahead of the official end of the consultation period on Friday, members of Sittingbourne Action Community in Kent plea for the town's only hotel to be spared.

The letter, which has also been sent to Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt (Lab), the chief executive of Swale Borough Council, and the National Asylum Support Service, explains how the loss of the Coniston Hotel would have a detrimental impact on the town.

It reads: "We realise wherever you try to open support centres you must get letters and petitions opposing them, often giving the same arguments wherever in the country you chose.

"Equally we understand you have a duty to put the asylum seekers somewhere and there is never an ideal place. But there is one very good reason why the Coniston is different - it is the only full-service hotel in Sittingbourne."

The campaigners say the hotel has been an essential hub of Sittingbourne life for decades and serves a vital and unique role in the community. They warn of a "downward spiral of leakage" from the town's economy if the hotel is lost.

This coming weekend marks the official end of the public consultation period. Government ministers will consider the feedback from the borough and county councils, police, the health authority, residents and Derek Wyatt MP, before making a final decision whether or not to press ahead with the induction centre.

It is not clear how long this decision will take, although it is thought it may not be made until May, when the results of a general inquiry in the National Asylum Support Service is completed and the local Government elections are over.