IMMIGRATION is a fact of modern life. Globalisation has affected almost every area of our existence and the digital revolution has made national boundaries a thing of the past.

So it should come as no surprise that people are following the global trend and moving where the money is.

But with the Prime Minister pledging "British jobs for British people" from a platform in Bournemouth, the topic at the top of the national agenda is a live issue for local people.

The Local Government Association is demanding an extra £250 million a year from the government to cope with pressures placed on resources by economic migrants.

Bournemouth ranked 33 in the list of hard-pressed authorities - twelfth if London boroughs are discounted. More than 4,000 foreign nationals applied from Bournemouth last year for National Insurance numbers.

Bournemouth council's resources chief, Cllr John Beesley, said the town was a "special case".

"We are Britain's biggest resort. Without people coming to the town looking for short-term work, the hospitality industry would be on its knees," he said.

And Cllr Beesley added that government targets for development were especially hard on a town with "solid" boundaries.

"The only area left to expand is to the north, which would be met with sustained resistance from councillors," he said.

Claire Hadley, a medical physicist from Poole, said an increased demand on resources was an inevitable consequence of an increase in population.

Katie Diamond, a director of Bournemouth recruitment agency Fresh Recruits, said the percentage of foreign workers on her firm's client list had "definitely grown" during her seven years in the recruitment business, but still formed only about 10 per cent of her client base.

"We have people from Poland, South Africa and India. They tend to be placed in different sectors.

"Indians often have financial and banking experience. Europeans are often recruited for customer service roles and in hospitality," she said.

John Challis, an IT manager from Southbourne, said economic facts were more important than media scare-mongering.

"I don't have a problem with immigrants. If they're paying their way, what's the problem?"

According to the LGA report, hospitals are facing pressure from migrants using accident and emergency units rather than GPs - a misunderstanding which Cathy Lakin, a senior nurse in the Royal Bournemouth Hospital's emergency care unit, said was harmful both to the hospital and the migrants.

"This can be detrimental to their health if they do not have continuing or follow-up health care. Emergency departments aren't equipped to see patients on a continuing care basis, although we are always available for an emergency consultation," said Nurse Lakin.

Policing has been at the centre of the immigration debate since July, when Cambridgeshire's chief constable, Julie Spence, demanded more money to deal with new challenges presented by a rapidly changing population.

Mrs Spence highlighted an £800,000-a-year translation bill as one of the key costs of immigration to her force.

Norman Rowe, a telephone engineer from Ensbury Park, said legal representation in the defendant's language was a basic right.

A spokesman for the Bournemouth Area Hospitality Association said more than half its members' employees were foreign, many from the town's language schools.

Sabina Haenel, a language student from Dresden living in central Bournemouth, said freedom of movement within the European Union was good for all member states. "People can improve their language, and it helps the economy," she said.

Rachael Powell, an office clerk from Southbourne, favours the Australian "points" system, where applicants are scored on their skills.

"I don't think jobs should be given out willy-nilly," she said. "People coming into the country should be restricted by the number of jobs available."

Nick King, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for Mid-Dorset and North Poole, condemned the comments of his former counterpart in Halesowen and Rowley Regis, who resigned his candidacy after evoking Enoch Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech.

"It's dangerous to talk about immigrants in a way which suggests they're causing problems with social cohesion," said Mr King.

But he went on to say the debate on immigration should not suffer as a result of the comments.