A NIGHT shelter for homeless refugees in Glasgow is to close after a Christian church decided to evict the charity which runs the service at its hall over safety fears.

Police are regularly called to Anderston Kelvingrove Parish Church to deal with “disorder” amid tensions between people of different nationalities who crowd into the hall to sleep on mats on the floor.

The lease agreement between the church and the charity allows for 15 asylum seekers and four volunteers to spend the night in the hall from 8pm until 8am – but up to 35 people have been allowed in on some nights, including homeless EU migrants from eastern Europe.

The church management claims the charity’s refusal to turn people away could lead to tragedy if there is a fire in the building. They have also been told the numbers must be limited to 15 by insurers for the Church of Scotland.

Glasgow Night Shelter for Destitute Asylum Seekers was set up in 2011 for refugees who have been refused asylum in the UK and are not eligible for government support because the Home Office has ruled they must return to their country of origin.

The shelter, which moved to the church in Anderston five years ago, has more recently been allowing EU migrants who are homeless to sleep at the church, including couples, which has upset church elders.

Retired minister Tom Moffat, who is the church’s Session Clerk – the secretary to the management committee – said: “We have a contract with the night shelter management deliberately drawn up to focus them on what they saw then as the greatest need, which is destitute male asylum seekers. Nobody else. Nobody from Poland. No women, because we can’t cope with women as well as men in the one space.”

When asked if he was concerned that unmarried people could be sleeping together in the church, he said: “That would be unhelpful. That would be a different dynamic to the building.”

He said up to 35 people were sleeping in the church hall on some nights and “a third of them could be from eastern Europe”, which Moffat said creates a “clash of culture” between EU migrants and asylum seekers from outside the EU.

He said: “If you’ve got 35 people and they’re all trying to get a space to sleep there’s going to be tension and aggro.”

Moffat said they can only accommodate 15 people because there must be space between them to give access to the fire exits to “satisfy fire regulations”. He added: “You can’t fault them [the night shelter management] for what they’re trying to do but it endangers those who are here.”

Building manager Kenny Anderson, who has worked at the church since it opened in the late 1960s, said those who use the night shelter had created a range of problems for the church members and other groups who use the building.

The church has a dwindling congregation – it can seat 450 but the number of people regularly attending services has fallen to 15. Despite this, the church is a thriving community hub, hosting dozens of groups, including services for alcoholics and addicts, and events organised by Muslims and members of the Russian and Georgian Orthodox Church.

Anderson said: “We don’t like throwing people out on the street but unfortunately there has been a lot of problems caused by the night shelter. There was an incident where a man exposed himself to a child outside the building. There was fighting among the men and police had to be called. A door was smashed on Wednesday morning by a man who had previously been banned from the night shelter. The door has been smashed four times this year. All three toilets were blocked on Tuesday morning.

“There was an incident when a man remained in the building after the night shelter closed in the morning and we had children using the building that morning. There was another man with alcohol problems who was sleeping in the garden during the day.

“A weight loss group for women stopped using the building because members didn’t feel safe. They said they felt threatened because men were staring at them through the glass.”

Police Scotland confirmed officers have been called to eight incidents at the church since the turn of the year. A spokeswoman said: “Seven have been in relation to disorder and the other one is related to a vandalism. No-one has been arrested or charged in connection with the above incidents.”

Anderson also raised concerns about the night shelter operating at double its capacity. He said: “All we’re insured for is 15 people and four volunteers. We recently discovered there were more than 30 staying. We also had couples staying here. It’s meant to be for males only. There aren’t the facilities for unmarried couples to sleep separately.

“We know there will be a backlash against our decision – people will say the Church of Scotland is throwing migrants out on to the streets – but we’ve had enough. The deadline to leave is August 31.”

Annika Joy, who has been chair of the night shelter management committee since February, said: "We have been working with the church to bring the number back down but as humanitarians it is difficult to turn people away who are desperate and have no recourse to public funds. Destitute EU migrants have also been offered temporary emergency shelter in extreme cases when they have no support. We acknowledge the church cannot accept that.”

Joy thanked the church for hosting the service for the last five years and appealed for support as they seek new premises.

“We’re desperately looking,” she said. “We need help from kind and generous people in this country who care about this issue. The church has been incredibly gracious and generous but they’re not in a position to do this anymore. Anyone who has suitable accommodation, we would be very keen to hear from them.”

FORMER HOMELESS REFUGEE ACCUSES CHURCH OF ABANDONING HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES

Tony Khan, who used the night shelter for more than two years, said it’s closure will force vulnerable asylum seekers on to the streets.

Khan, who is from Pakistan, admitted the shelter will offer anyone in need a place to sleep and insisted the church should do more to alleviate the homelessness “crisis”.

Khan said: “There is currently an influx of destitute asylum seekers and European homeless migrants who have nowhere to go.

“The shelter welcomes anyone and everyone who is in danger of being on the streets, but things have never been as bad and the increase in number is only due to a failure of the system. Rather than be sympathetic to the ongoing homelessness crisis and offer greater support at this time of need, the church has opted to evict the night shelter for breaking the rules. The church has stated that their decision is non-negotiable. They are basically asking the shelter to kick people out on to the streets. It goes against the basic humanitarian principles which it was set up for in the first place.”

Khan also claimed the church is split over the decision to evict the charity. He said: “Some of them are devout Christians themselves and therefore they have their reservations about going against the church, therefore they don't want to go public. The church initially insisted upon the immediate removal guests from church property on the evening of May 15 in order to reduce numbers to 15. After pleading with them they compromised and granted us a week to meet their demands.

“As a result, many already vulnerable guests are being forced to leave and will become street homeless. The final eviction will take effect on August 31. If no alternative host arrangement can be organised by this date the night shelter will become inoperable and a further 15 individuals will be made street homeless.”