A hotel on the A23 in Crawley is what the forgotten islanders of Diego Garcia are calling home today.

A party of 30 Diego Garcians, including a nine-year-old child with special needs, is now being housed at the Premier Lodge Hotel near Gossops Green.

West Sussex social services is picking up the £50-a-night room bill and also helping with subsistence.

The council was ordered by a judge at the High Court last Friday to help the islanders, who came to the UK with full British citizenship but nowhere to live.

The Diego Garcians were forced to leave their home island in the Seventies when it was taken over by the British government for a British and American military base.

They were exiled to Mauritius but high unemployment there prompted them to travel to Britain.

The court order gave instructions that the Diego Garcians should be looked after for 14 days but it is not clear what will happen when that period expires on August 1.

The council is remaining tight-lipped about the details of the islanders' care.

They were helped by volunteers from Crawley and the Salvation Army with food and blankets during their stay at Gatwick and when they were camped out at the social services office in Crawley.

A deal has been struck with the hotel chain, where other cases in need have been housed, but no one will say how many rooms have been taken by the islanders or what nightly rate they are being charged.

The basic room rate does not include breakfast, which is charged between £4.25 and £6.25 for paying guests.

Crawley MP Laura Moffatt is talking with the Foreign Office, the Department of Work and Pensions, Department of Health and the Deputy Prime Minister's office.

She is adamant the islanders were told they would need housing and a job opportunity before travelling to the UK.

She said: "Housing and cash will not be automatically provided. I hope this unhappy episode comes to a conclusion soon but I fully support West Sussex County Council on this matter."

A council spokesman said: "Some 30 people have all been seen by social services to review their situations.

"We spent two days talking to all the adults to establish their needs and what can or cannot be done.

"We are assuming the court order will have to be extended if we are to continue to house them."

Many of the islanders have been seen relaxing in their rooms, some with their heads out of the windows watching the traffic streaming past on the main road.