A well-known Sandbach hotel is no longer being used to house asylum seekers.

The Chimney House Hotel. Congleton Road is one of 13 hotels across England being "handed back to their communities," as confirmed by the Home Office on Tuesday 11 August.

The Tudor-style hotel, close to Junction 17 of the M6, has 51 bedrooms, a restaurant and bar.

It has traditionally provided accommodation for visitors travelling through Sandbach and the wider Cheshire area.

The hotel had been used as contingency asylum accommodation by the Home Office, dating back to at least 2020.

Sandbach's Chimney House is now among a growing number of hotels being removed from the asylum accommodation system.

The Home Office said the latest 13 closures are expected to save taxpayers £51m, bringing the expected savings from this year's hotel closures to £224m.

At the peak of the scheme in 2023, around 400 hotels were being used at a reported cost of £9m a day.

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Fewer than 160 asylum hotels are now in use, the government said, with more expected to close.

It is instead increasing its use of larger, basic accommodation, including former military sites.

The Chimney House can now potentially return to its former role as a hotel or be used for another purpose. Its future has not yet been confirmed.