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Across several nights, 25 properties in Salford have been targeted in a campaign of racist intimidation. Windows were smashed and homes were sprayed with “No HMOs”. One house was marked with a swastika, and a pig’s head was left outside another. hopenothate.org.uk/2026/10/15/s...

The attacks began in Kersall before spreading to the area in and between Walkden and Little Hulton. The perpetrators claimed they were targeting properties housing people seeking asylum. But several of the homes attacked weren't HMOs at all. Some were family homes with children.

Violence and intimidation is unacceptable whether the home is an HMO or not. But the indiscriminate attacks show that anti-migrant rhetoric endangers any racialised person living in the UK, regardless of status.

The attacks have been enthusiastically welcomed by local far-right auditors and social media influencers. Since they began, Brandon Breen (AKA ‘Struggle of the Streets’) has posted daily videos documenting the aftermath.

The comment sections beneath many of these videos are filled with racist abuse, praise for the perpetrators, and calls for further violence. This is how online hate legitimises real world intimidation.

Salford-based auditor Cameron Mears (AKA ‘cozzy’) has also posted footage of homes that have been trashed, with their doors kicked off, windows smashed and egg smeared up the internal walls. He claimed: "as you can see, Salford just don't want these HMOs here".

Former Britain First co-leader Ashlea Simon, who lives locally, was also quick to produce content in the area. A self-described ethnonationalist, Simon took apparent pleasure in zooming into the broken down homes. hopenothate.org.uk/case-files-b...

These attacks follow more than a year of far-right campaigning against the use of HMOs to accommodate people seeking asylum. This hateful rhetoric and intimidation from prominent figures fuels racist hate, resulting in very real consequences in our communities.