Villagers were horrified when they received leaflets saying a former boarding school was being turned into a hostel for asylum seekers.

Residents of Mayfield, near Crowborough, received the anonymous pamphlets, headed From Sangatte to Sussex, through their letterboxes.

The leaflets said former boys boarding school Mayfield College in Little Trodgers Lane had been earmarked as a reception centre for immigrants.

Wealden District Council yesterday firmly denied the rumours while MP Charles Hendry dismissed them as "scaremongering."

A council statement said: "The lawful use of Mayfield College is as a residential school.

"If it is to be used as a hostel for asylum seekers, planning permission would be required and the council would deal with it in the normal way, with residents being consulted.

"No formal plans have been received from either the Home Office or the site owners, Sabre Developments."

Peter Kember of Kember, Loudon and Williams, which acts as agents for Sabre Developments, said his clients had been approached by the Government.

But the Home Office yesterday said it had no record of such an approach.

However, the rumours have sparked concern in the village.

Margaret Gill, of Fletching Road, said: "I have only just moved here but I can see it would be terribly disruptive.

"There simply isn't the infrastructure to support a centre. There is only a small village school and one row of shops.

"Those poor folk do have to go somewhere but there just aren't the resources here.

Mr Hendry said he had put the issue to Home Office minister Beverley Hughes on Tuesday after being contacted by worried residents.

He said the size of the building was likely to rule out its use as a reception centre and it was "increasingly likely that this is a scare."

Whoever was behind the leaflets should issue apologise to Mayfield residents for the distress caused, he said.

No one from Sabre was available to comment.