A WOMAN who accused immigrants of jumping the housing queue during a TV debate is scapegoating people, campaigners say.

Emily Wood, 28, appeared on a live BBC debate on the EU referendum on Thursday night.

She said: “My mum is disabled and needs a bungalow.

“Immigrants are bumped up the list. Am I right to want to leave?”

But officials from the Borough of Poole say priority is in fact given to victims of harassment, those who are classed as ‘high’ medical priority and young people leaving care, as well as foster carers and people in overcrowded accommodation.

Between April 2015 and January 2016, 93 per cent of people rehomed by the council were 'white British', with just seven per cent from ethnic minority groups.

Adnan Chaudry, chief officer of the Dorset Race Equality Council, said housing is based on “needs and not somebody’s ethnic background”.

“I do empathise with this lady - we do have issues with social housing,” he said.

“However, we shouldn’t get that mixed up with issues to do with different ethnic groups or immigration. They are two very separate issues.

“Sometimes people don’t want to accept that reality - they want to blame somebody else and the scapegoat may often be people from different ethnic backgrounds.”

Hamworthy East ward councillor Vishal Gupta said: “Everybody on the housing list can’t have a semi-detached property.”

Miss Wood, who lives with disabled mother Valerie and father Roderick in a three-bed end of terrace council house in Legion Road, Hamworthy, said yesterday: “We need a three-bedroom bungalow, which are few and far between in this area.

“Every bungalow that comes up that is adequate for us we have bid on. There have been about six in the last four years and each time we get down to the top 20 but every time it gets taken by an emergency case.

“When we have gone round to see who has ended up in the property, it has usually been immigrants.”

Visits were made to two of the six properties mentioned by Miss Wood yesterday.

Both were occupied by British-born people.

Miss Wood worked as a waitress but is now registered disabled after suffering a bad back injury.

She said: ”I’m not anti-immigrant, I want them to come here but the government seem to be giving them houses without thinking.”

A council spokesperson said: “To be placed on Borough of Poole’s housing register applicants must qualify under certain criteria.

“This includes having a local connection to Poole, meaning they must have lived in the area for at least two years before being eligible.

“Once people are deemed to have an assessed housing need they are placed into one of four bands and properties are allocated to those deemed to have the highest priority housing need.

“Each case is assessed in line with our housing policy regardless of the applicants’ immigration status.

“We are unable to comment on individual cases but would encourage anyone who thinks their circumstances might have changed or feels their housing need might have changed to contact us to discuss their situation on 01202 633804.”