First town in the UK where Poles are majority

The latest data release from the UK National Census 2011 emerged from the Office of National Statistics last Tuesday. After a few days of poring over the data by the UK media, it emerged that Fulling in Lincolnshire (population 5,500) is the first town in the UK where Poles form a majority.

Census data for the AF1 postcode area (Watt-Waddle District) shows that the number of residents 'born in the EU Accession Countries - Poland' is 50.1% of the total population. The news was not surprising for locals, as the majority of the town's employers - mainly food processing and fruit & veg and flower growers - rely almost totally on Polish migrant workers.

The picturesque market town, which has been experiencing a population decline since before WW2, has witnessed the first rise in residents since the 1931 census. The past decade's influx of Poles to pick, pack and process the region's crops has spawned many Polish-owned businesses (Fulling has six Polish delis, four Polish hair-dressing salons and a Polish pub). Leader of the local Polish community and landlord of the Orzel Bialy pub Zbigniew Bzdura, has said that he will be standing as Fulling's mayor in the 2013 local elections.

Several other towns in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire have also been revealed as having significant Polish population approaching the 50% mark. These include Pinching, Little Itching, Legple and Finger's Cross.

Fulling has taken its new Polish-born population to heart. Local businessmen have welcomed the influx of workers and are expanding production. A French fish processing factory, Avril-Poisson, opened in Fulling last year, having moved there from Boulogne-sur-Mer because of the high taxes imposed on the owner by François Holland's government.

Today, as for the past five years, Fulling is celebrating Easter Monday the Polish way - Śmingus Dingus. The traditional Wet Monday celebrations involve throwing bucketfuls of water at passers-by in the street. Local resident Edna Codd, said "I don't mind them doing it when it's 20 degrees, but on a freezing day like today, it's enough to make any right-thinking person vote Ukip".

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