The Home Office began housing asylum seekers in hotels in Brighton and Hove in July 2021, one of which currently is home to unaccompanied teenage boys aged 16 and 17.

Some 1,600 children have moved through the hotel over the last 18 months, with around 30 children currently living at the hotel, which has a communal area with a sofa, PlayStation and a table tennis table for them to enjoy.

The children arrive at the hotel with no possessions, with most assumed to have come to the UK on small boats.

The Argus understands that staff at the hotel offer a certificate to the children when they have accomplished something, such as performing well in learning English from volunteer tutors - something that is treasured by the children.

From the outside, it appears like an appealing seaside hotel that you might want to stay in for the weekend.

However, it is the hotel where 137 children disappeared, with 76 still missing.

It emerged this week that dozens of children had been reported missing from the hotel, with concerns that they may have been kidnapped or coerced into crime - so for the youngsters in this part of Hove, the big concern is who they might meet or get mixed up with.

Residents have reported seeing some of the children hanging around in groups “like they’re waiting for someone”, with older men spotted congregating in the area.

Sussex Police reported that two men were arrested in May last year following a report of two children housed at the hotel getting into a car.

The car was stopped by police along the M25, with three young passengers taken into the care of the Home Office.

The Argus met with Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, outside the hotel as he went for a visit to meet the children and find out about their living conditions.

He described the environment as “more like being in a library than a youth club”.

He said that the children are “very considerate” of the neighbourhood and surroundings and have a “thirst for knowledge”.

“This is not a stereotype of criminals grasping feral children that some people want to portray - these are kids who are doing everything that is asked of them. They are thoughtful, curious and trying to think about the future,” Mr Kyle said.

Mr Kyle spoke to some of the children while in the hotel, who said they were being supported.

“When they saw me, they heard who I was and a group of them came over and started chatting.

“There was one guy who was from Iran who spoke very good English - he’s clearly piercingly intelligent because he has also picked up a couple of other languages just by hanging out with other kids.”

Debate is now afoot about who is legally responsible for safeguarding the children in our city, with the Home Office and Brighton and Hove City Council both at odds with one another.

A council spokesman said: “The council takes its safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously. When any child is reported missing, the council works with the police and Home Office in every case to help trace the missing child.”

The Home Office vehemently denies any suggestion that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been kidnapped and said that local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children, regardless of where they go missing from.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: “The well-being of children and minors in our care is an absolute priority. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure all children and minors are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

“Any child or minor going missing is extremely serious, and we work around the clock with the police and local authorities to urgently locate them and ensure they are safe.”

A police spokesman said: “When people go missing, our primary role is to investigate the circumstances including assessing if they are vulnerable or could have been a victim of crime.

“If risks to their safety are identified, we and other appropriate parties will take action to safeguard them.

“We continue to work with the Home Office to help put prevention measures in place, including multi-agency safeguarding meetings with other partners to ensure that, when people are reported missing, we have the best opportunity to locate them.”