People living on a Kent estate say they have been left “worried and unnerved” after an asylum seeker walked into a woman’s house.

Neighbours say they are warning each other to be on alert following the incident in Aycliffe, Dover, which is thought to be the first of its kind.

A letter was even sent by Dover District Council (DDC) to residents at a retirement complex on the estate, advising them to keep their doors locked – although this has since been withdrawn after it was deemed to be “poorly communicated”.

It comes after young man walked into the home of Sue Doyle in Old Folkestone Road on Sunday morning, demanding use of her phone and to be driven to Manchester.

The asylum seeker is thought to have arrived on a small boat a short walk away at Shakespeare Beach – a common landing point for those not rescued at sea.

Statistics from the Ministry of Defence show 528 asylum seekers crossed the English Channel that day – with a total of 10 boats detected.

Following the council’s letter to residents, KentOnline visited Old Folkestone Road and spoke to people about Sunday’s incident.

Carly Bishop said there were “a lot of police about and helicopters”.

“A lot of people here are really concerned,” she said.

“They don’t want incidents like this. There are a lot of elderly people here.”

Gladys Smith, 87, said: “My neighbour told me to lock my door. I would not be able to cope with a situation like that.

“I can’t see why the authorities can’t stop them coming here.”

Young mum Gemma Hinton told KentOnline she saw a police van at the scene.

“It is unnerving and I have double-locked my door,” she said.

“It is worrying when you have a small child.”

Lisa Wood, of nearby St David’s Avenue, also heard a helicopter circling on Sunday.

“Even a French camera crew came to Aycliffe to talk to people about it,” she said.

“I think it’s terrible. My father is 79 and I told him to lock his front and back door.

“We have asylum-seeker landings almost every day and they are usually young men.”

The day after the incident, an “independent living manager” from DDC wrote to tenants of Sunny Corner – a retirement housing complex managed by the council.

The letter said: “I’m sure many of you are aware of the problems around the estate yesterday with immigrants trying to gain entrance to people’s homes.

“From what I understand they wanted money, phones & possibly vehicles to get away from the area.

“This is all very unnerving, as a precaution I would advise you to keep your flat doors locked just in case this happens again.

“If you notice anyone around the scheme or grounds looking suspicious please do not approach them, make sure you are safe then call the police on 999 or pull your cord to inform Careium (security systems company).

“If you can, please contact your local MP, this is a serious incident that put everyone in danger.”

A DDC spokesman told KentOnline the letter has since been withdrawn – and a replacement is being hand-delivered.

“We apologise for any concerns caused by this letter to residents at Sunny Corner in Dover,” they said.

“We are reassuring residents that this is a safe site with controlled door entry.

“As part of our routine duty of care to look after residents, it would be normal practice for us to keep residents informed on matters of safety.

“We accept that the original letter was poorly communicated. This was written in response to an earlier incident in Aycliffe, and not a specific incident at Sunny Corner.

“Representatives from our housing and community safety services will be meeting with residents to discuss any concerns they may have.”