The rippling fallout from Portsmouth's migrant arrivals

In the days since 120 migrants were brought ashore in Hampshire, triggering anti-migrant protests, counter-protests and a wave of online rumours, the consequences have rippled far beyond those who arrived on an overcrowded boat.

From Portsmouth to Poole, communities are grappling with heightened tension, fear and mistrust, with some residents avoiding certain areas as a result.

People from ethnic minority backgrounds have expressed fears of becoming targets of abuse or being mistaken for asylum seekers.

Others, meanwhile, from both sides of the contentious debate over small boat crossings, have been motivated to campaign in response.

In Portsmouth this week, resident and grandmother Shirley Deacon said she backed those who have protested against migrants arriving, because of fears about the safety of people already living here.

"I'm with them because it's getting worse, you've got to be living in Portsmouth to see it," she said.

She said she believed the migrants should be returned to their countries of origin.

Jennifer Enver condemned the disorder that broke out when activists blocked the road at Eastney two weeks ago as the migrants were brought ashore, but empathised with the frustrations of peaceful protesters.

She said: "I think they've got every right to demonstrate because at the end of the day these people are coming here illegally and it's stopping the people that should be coming here - the true refugees."

Former Royal Navy submariner Aaron Ball, from Eastleigh, argued that the protests reflected "the feeling of the British people".

"Every successive government has failed to tackle the root causes of the migrant crisis," he said. "The small boats, or not-so-small boats, they still come.

"You can legislate, put in place anti-racism, anti-hate laws, and other things you can enforce to keep people safe, but it doesn't change how people see things - that law doesn't change how people feel or what people believe."

In a message to the BBC, Glen, who did not give his surname, wrote: "I support the protests 100%, people feel like they're under attack."

Others described Saturday's protest marches as disruptive and "a bit too much", including students whose accommodation block was closed as a safety precaution.

"They had to lock down the building that we're staying in, because it could have got too violent," said Joshua Lindley, who complained the rallies were "ruining the whole vibe of the city".

Fellow student, Arjun Thandi, added: "It's just causing more inconvenience."

One elderly lady said the weekend's protests compelled her to avoid the city centre altogether, so she and a friend got on the bus to shop in Fareham instead.

Resident Vanesha Peach has also stayed away from the city centre because of fears about her personal safety.

"It impacts on people of my skin colour because I feel threatened, people might think I'm an illegal immigrant, whereas I'm British," she said. "It's of great concern."

"The fear is very real," insisted Jayanti Shar from Portswood in Southampton.

"People of Asian and black origin are being targeted and will be targeted - this is where migrant protests could lead."

Shar, now in his late 70s, was awarded an MBE for the decades he has spent campaigning for race equality and community cohesion in Southampton, and he continues to challenge the perception that race is determined by skin colour.

"There is only one human race," he said. "All human beings belong to the same species."

He despaired at hearing that the Pakistan under-19's cricket team were recently mistaken for migrants at a hotel in Cosham "just because they are a different colour".

He said the abuse levelled at him has increased "markedly" over the past two years.

"I've lived in Southampton for 50 years, I've had people shout at me in the street about migrants - it's wrong."

He said people had made comments to him such as "go home" and "where do you come from?"

Shar argued people should be able to go about their daily lives without fear, and said the current heightened tension had made him more "vigilant and cautious" about where he goes.

He said people had told him "you don't know if your work colleagues are some of these protesters".

The rumour that sparked a protest last week, outside the hotel where Pakistan's teenage cricketers were staying, began when a photo of them getting off a coach was posted online.

A Reform councillor who talked to hotel staff said he persuaded the protesters to leave by explaining he had been shown "proof" the teenagers were not migrants.

Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, called the incident "deeply concerning" and said: "There is a legitimate debate to be had about immigration, but it must be based on facts not misinformation or rumour."

The ripples of rumour spread to Poole in Dorset too, where anti-migrant protesters had gathered on the same night the migrants arrived in Portsmouth.

Social media posts ignited speculation that migrants had also landed in Poole.

Anxious residents were worried they may have arrived in "illegal" boats, were being housed at a nearby hotel, or might have been seen on coaches at a local military base.

Again, local politicians stepped in to try to calm fears.

BCP Council issued a statement and in a social media post, Poole's Labour MP, Neil Duncan Jordan, warned against "inflammatory rumours".

He assured his constituents that "no asylum seekers" had arrived by boat, nor were they being housed locally and there were no plans to do so.

The MP also explained that "migrants" seen on coaches were actually military personnel returning from an exercise.

One resident said the rumours reminded him of false posts circulating during the Covid pandemic suggesting "martial law was imminent", because someone had seen "a convoy of tanks" coming down the motorway.

The RNLI, which has its headquarters in Poole, has also experienced significant fallout, after two of its lifeboats brought the migrants ashore in Portsmouth.

Some local groups protested outside the RNLI head office in Poole last Wednesday.

Posting about it on social media, Sue Dangerfield from Bournemouth Patriots accused the RNLI of being a "taxi service" for "illegal men".

Others online have claimed the RNLI is a "maritime trafficking operation with a donation tin".

Then on Saturday, about 100 people from Stand up to Racism Dorset held a counter protest which aimed to defend the lifeboat charity from "horrible threats and intimidation".

Earlier, after some crew members were targeted online, RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes described the abuse of its volunteers as "wholly unacceptable".

The charity conceded that in recent weeks some supporters had "withdrawn" their financial support, but said overall it had seen an increase in donations.

As the contentious debate over immigration continues, people keen to explore the statistics behind the headlines, can find the latest data on BBC Verify's interactive migration tracker.