Asylum seekers Ajmal Kadari left and Rahumullah Ahmedi said the doors made them a target

Asylum seekers living in Middlesbrough claim they have been the target of physical and verbal abuse because the houses they live in are easily identifiable as their doors are painted red.

Some 66 of those with red front doors were occupied by asylum seekers of 22 nationalities, the investigation found.

G4S said there was no policy to house asylum seekers behind red doors but its subcontractor would be repainting them. However, following the story in the Times, G4S has agreed to paint the doors in different colours: "We have agreed to repaint doors in a range of colours after these concerns were brought to our attention".

G4S was given assurances by Jomast that it "does not distinguish between those properties that it rents to private tenants and those used to house asylum seekers".

A row of houses in Warren Street in Middlesbrough, England, Wednesday Jan. 20, 2016.

A spokesman for G4S said the subcontractor, Jomast, would repaint the doors.

It had reportedly led to the smearing of dog excrement on homes, and eggs and stones being thrown at windows.

One Iranian asylum seeker told how he had been plagued by youths throwing eggs and prostitutes banging on his windows.

Shadow transport minister and Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald said the practice was "reprehensible" and that it "reminds you of Germany in the 1930s", according to Sky News.

Of 168 properties identified by the newspaper as Jomast housing in the city, 155 had red front doors.

He said: "I am deeply concerned by this issue and I have commissioned Home Office officials to conduct an urgent audit of asylum seeker housing in the north east. I expect the highest standards from our contractors".

Jomast said its accommodation is inspected frequently by the Home Office and meets the required standards. Jomast said it was "ludicrous" to suggest it practiced discrimination.

Jomast, which owns the properties in Gresham, provide the housing for G4S - the company which hold the main Government contract to house asylum seekers.

The former landowner, who has lived in the area for three years, said: "Everyone here knows the red colour is Jomast".

"If we find any evidence of discrimination against asylum seekers it will be dealt with immediately, as any such behavior will not be tolerated", he said.

"As many landlords will attest, paint is bought in bulk for use across all properties".

Ms Fletcher said the asylum seekers had been "so anxious that it marked them out" for attacks.

He said a far-right group had organised a rally in the town on Saturday to call for refugees not to be let into the country, and only 30 people had turned up, some of them from other towns.

Middlesbrough has Britain's highest concentration of refugees. Abdullahi was quoted as saying that a Jomast worker who came to the property and saw the freshly painted white door said that was against company policy.

Shares in the firm were down 2.8 percent in mid morning trading on Wednesday, giving it a market valuation of 3.3 billion pounds.