Finns protested yesterday against opening a refugee reception centre in the former home town of Nokia as the recession-hit country struggles to handle an influx of asylum seekers.

The demonstrators in the market square of Salo were waving signs saying “Close the borders” and shouted slogans such as “Islam will destroy us”. They said the reception centre, planned in a half-vacant hospital, would be a security risk, especially for children and women.

Salo is one of the sites of Nokia’s once-dominant phone business. Microsoft, the current owner of the ailing business, has just announced further cuts of 1,100 positions in the town.

“Finns need to be helped first. Everything has been taken from the unemployed, the poor and the sick. But the coffers are empty. If these centres open, our taxes will go up,” said a man who gave his name Kari.

Migration has become a hot political topic across the Nordics, driving many voters to far-right parties and playing into fears that immigration will deprive local people of jobs and undermine their cradle-to-grave welfare.

The demonstration in Salo is one of several protests against plans for housing migrants in new centres around the country – this echoing disagreements across Europe about migration policies.

The rise in immigrants comes at a difficult time for Finland, whose economy is shrinking for a fourth consecutive year. The country is not used to mass immigration as only about six percent of the Finnish population are immigrants.

The asylum seekers are a particular challenge for the Eurosceptic The Finns party which joined the new coalition government in May after campaigning in election on a nationalist platform including tighter immigration policy.

Meanwhile last week local politicians in a small town Forssa voted down a plan to house asylum seekers into a closed hotel after demonstrations outside the town hall.