A NIGHT shelter for homeless refugees is to close after a church decided to evict the charity which runs the service because of safety fears.

Police are regularly called to Anderston Kelvingrove Parish Church in Glasgow 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 lets 15 asylum seekers and four volunteers 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.

Organisers of the shelter accept that the church has had to act, and have appealed for help to find new premises.

But one former shelter user protested at the closure and said it would force destitute people onto the streets.

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, the church’s Session Clerk or 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 unmarried people could be sleeping together in the church, he said: “That would be unhelpful. That would be a different dynamic to the building.”

Moffat 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 he said creates a “clash of culture” with 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 having more than 15 people caused a fire risk and 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 said night-shelter users had created a range of problems for church members and others using the building.

The church can seat 450 but just 15 regularly attend services. Despite this, it is a thriving community hub, hosting dozens of groups, including services for alcoholics and addicts, and events organised by Muslims and the Russian and Georgian Orthodox Church.

Anderson said: “There have 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 ... members didn’t feel safe because men were staring at them through the glass.”

Police Scotland confirmed officers have been called to seven disorder incidents and one of vandalism this year. No-one has been arrested or charged.

Anderson also raised concerns about the night shelter operating at double its capacity and added: “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.”

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

Khan, from Pakistan, insisted the church should do more to alleviate the homelessness “crisis”. He said: “There is currently an influx of destitute asylum seekers and European homeless migrants who have nowhere to go ... things have never been as bad and the increase in numbers 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.”

He added: “Many already vulnerable guests are being forced to leave and will become street homeless.”