Asylum seekers staying at Sussex hotels have denied they are living it up at taxpayers' expense.

The Gatwick and Crawley Holiday Inns are each housing 40 refugees, mainly men who have fled Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reports in the national Press yesterday suggested they were dining on smoked salmon and using plush solarium and leisure facilities.

But the allegations were denied by the refugees, who insisted they were keen to start work and begin new lives as soon as possible.

Salmid Mohod, an Afghan at the Gatwick hotel, told The Argus he and his friends were happy to be in the UK.

He said: "We are happy to be here but our families are at home and we will miss them.

"We want to work hard and we like this hotel very much. But we are not just having fun. It is a worrying time for us."

Another, 30-year-old Sarwar Baroti, said: "Everything is really good. England is wonderful. Life is much better here than in Afghanistan.

"It is beautiful here. We have a TV and a bathroom in our room - everything.

"We have three good meals a day and everyone is very nice."

Sarwar said he took four months to travel from Afghanistan and paid smugglers £5,600 for his passage. He hopes to find work in Derby.

A hotel spokesman said: "They are being treated as paying guests but are not entitled to any extras unless they pay for them.

"The Home Office is paying the bill and we are happy to do business with them. We make sure all our guests are as comfortable as possible.

"As for them using the sun beds and dining on smoked salmon that is just ridiculous."

The cost of rooms at the Holiday Inn varies enormously but an average bill is about £99 a night.

The refugees are free to come and go as they please but are being minded by a team of Home Office chaperones.

Manager of the nearby Crawley Holiday Inn, Joel Castrec, said: "The refugees are mainly men and very nice.

"I have no idea how long they will be here. It could be a few days but I just don't know yet."

Other sources said the stays could be as long as three months.

Meanwhile, jobs are being found for the men and they have been granted work permits for four years under a deal struck by Home Secretary David Blunkett.