IN Bolton's rich multi-cultural environment, people from different communities are queueing outside Bolton Community College to learn English so they can - in the words of the Government - integrate with the rest of society.

So college lecturers and students have been left dumbfounded by the Government's decision to no longer automatically provide English courses for free.

Especially as it comes just five years after Labour said ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses would be taught at no cost to the student because it was seen as an essential requirement.

The move has caused outrage at colleges up and down the country and sparked protests about the funding cutback. The Refugee Council, which looks after people living in Bolton who have fled their countries in fear, has also condemned the move.

Bolton Community College has 800 students enrolled on its ESOL courses, with 600 on the waiting list.

Full time courses are run every day and there are evening classes. They are so much in demand that the ESOL course has become is the college's biggest single subject department.

But in September, only people who are unemployed or receiving benefits will have their fees waived.

Everyone else will be expected to pay towards the cost, including asylum seekers awaiting the outcome of applications to stay in Britain.

Mary Osmaston, the head of the Bolton Community College's ESOL department, says this will leave many people unable to enrol on the courses.

Most students on the course are of Asian heritage, asylum seekers, refugees and Eastern Europeans, and they range in age from 16 to 77.

Ms Osmaston said: "Demand for the lessons has grown over the years and more money has been put forward by the Government.

"But stopping people from accessing the courses is being done when the Government is talking about integrating in society and looking at citizenship issues. They have also announced plans that children will learn British values at school.

"The first step of doing this is through learning the language. This new policy seems to contradict the Government's policy on social cohesion. ESOL is very important in places like Bolton."

Ms Osmaston, who has been at the college for four years, said there would be sections of the community who would not be able to afford the courses.

"I heard that one reason given for not funding asylum seekers to take the course is because it gives them false hope that they might be given the right to stay," she said.

"But in some cases asylum seekers have been here five years waiting for a decision on their application.

"They are not allowed to work and are now being denied education which they could use to go on to do voluntary work and make a contribution to the community.

"But by preventing them from learning English they are unable to do anything - which can lead to mental health issues."

Ms Osmaston said cutting funding for ESOL courses was part of wide-ranging cuts in adult education. She warned: "The Government will have to realise that they will have to invest in adult education courses because of the way the population is going.

"Adults will need to be skilled to fill jobs. That is why we have migrant workers, because of the skills gap."

Her students told how embarking on ESOL courses were an investment in the future of the country and Bolton, especially as some of them go onto advanced studies.

Brazilian-born Claudia Ormrod, aged 30, has lived in Bradshaw for two years. She is taking ESOL courses to enable her to become an educational psychologist.

"I came here to study," she said. "After this I want to start on a Masters course. Without this course I would not be able to get a job and help others.

"Learning the language is very important. It is the only way of becoming a part of society."

Another student, Alena Shulock, aged 44, from Poland, moved to Bolton after marrying a local man.

She said women like her would lose out on when the funding is cut because of the cost of raising a family and then paying fees for the course.

Fgoralba Lika, aged 21, from Albania, came over to Bolton with her husband, who is working in the town. She wants to be an accountant.

"I am lucky because I have nearly finished my course, but there is no way I would be able to afford it," she said. "The Government needs to see these courses as a investment in the future of the country because without them I would not be able to work."

And Hannah Ziemecka, aged 27, from Poland, said: "If you can't speak English, you can't get a job."

Ms Osmaston added: "We just hope our protests might make the Government think again about being so draconian with funding."