The number of asylum seekers in the Drenthe village of Oranje, which has just 140 residents, is being frozen at 500, the local council agreed on Monday night.

The council and the refugee accommodation board had planned to house 1,400 refugees on a holiday park next to the village. Locals started a petition calling for a lower limit which was signed by almost all residents, Nos television says.

Officials will meet again in two weeks time to reassess the situation.

Locals first called for a freeze on refugee numbers last month after saying they felt swamped by so many new arrivals. Most of the refugees currently living in the holiday park are families from Syria.