German Ski Resort Hit by Major Wave of Non-White Crime
A woman living in a picturesque German ski resort hit by a 'major migrant crime wave' has told how she carries pepper spray for protection because she no longer feels safe.
Barbara Plant said she will not go out alone at night in Garmisch-Partenkirchen amid concerns over 250 migrants being housed in a disused army complex in the town.
Many other women in the Bavarian resort also say they are worried for their safety in what the mayor called 'an explosive situation' after police blamed a record increase in crime on asylum seekers.
'When it gets dark I stay indoors,' said Ms Plant, 59, who showed her can of pepper spray to MailOnline.
'I don't feel safe walking out at night anymore and that is because of the refugees.
'I have not experienced anything, but seeing groups of young men just makes it uncomfortable.'
Ms Plant, who has lived in the town for over 30 years, is not alone in her fears.
Such were the large number of calls from worried residents to the town's mayor Dr Sigrid Meierhofer she was compelled to write a letter pleading for help to try and calm what she called an 'explosive situation'.
The letter sent to Bavarian politician to Maria Els was leaked to the local press leaving town officials to launch a damage limitation exercise.
In the bombshell note Meierhofer said her town of 27,000 people had 'massive problems' caused by the presence of the migrants.
She was worried about public order and security in the town and in a cry for help added 'this is not to be ignored or tolerated.'
Meierhofer and other regional officials held a crisis meeting this week where it was announced police would step up street patrols in a bid to reassure residents.
The rising fear of crime stems from young male asylum seekers, the majority of whom are from Africa, living in series of disused US army buildings known as the Abrams Complex on the outskirts of the town.
Many have been in the secure camp for over two months surviving on a £120-a-month handout from the German government while they await notification of their asylum status.
Police said much of the crime was restricted to fights inside the complex but violence has also spread to the streets of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with arrests made over the summer for assaults and drunken behaviour.
In the past six weeks police have responded to more incidents in and around the refugee camp than in the last 12 months.
Ethnic rivalries, frustration and boredom among the asylum seekers has been blamed for the spate of violence.
Thomas Holzer, the town's deputy police chief, said: 'There are brawls, fights and property damage. The migrants occupy the best Wi-Fi places, chose who sleeps in what room'
He said troublemakers have been moved out to other refugee camps in southern Germany but many residents in Garmisch-Partenkirchen fear the situation is only going to get worse if more arrive.
The town, less than 80 miles from Munich, close to the base of Mt Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, is heavily dependent on tourism - with 400,000 holidaymakers arriving to ski and hike.
