THE famously liberal Swedes have turned against migrants after being pushed to breaking point in the struggle to cope with the "totally unprecedented" influx of refugees, a new poll says.
The study claimed the previously welcoming country has now reached its tolerance limit following months of migrant violence, sexual assaults and the death of asylum worker Alexandra Mezher in January this year.
In 2015 alone Sweden, with a population of 9.5million, received over 160,000 asylum applications and the country is expected to take as many as 190,000 refugees, or two per cent of the population, before the end of 2016.
As the crisis reached a peak last summer with millions migrants opting to take the deadly trip over the Mediterranean to reach the continent, Swedes initially welcomed the asylum-seekers on humanitarian grounds.
However as Swedish police warn they do not have the resources to tackle the increasing violence with more than 50 areas with a high proportion of migrants being listed as “no-go zones”, the people’s patience with the visitors is wearing thin.
The new poll revealed that fewer Swedes are now willing to donate clothes and money to asylum-seekers, despite the people donating almost 19.4 billion (£17bn) in 2015.
The study found that the population had grown increasingly sceptical of the migrant crisis with 60 per cent, compared to 34 per cent last year, of the surveyed saying Sweden should take fewer asylum-seekers.