The  mayor of a small Dutch town in Limburg says he plans to take legal action against the public prosecution department for failing to bring charges against six ‘criminal asylum seekers’.

Weert mayor Jos Heijman says he does not accept the department’s decision not to prosecute the six because of a lack of evidence.

The six men, who come from Morocco and Tunisia and have no chance of winning refugee status, were among a group of 26 young men who had been causing trouble in the town and had been confined to the refugee centre over the New Year period.

Heijmans said the decision not to prosecute them sends out the wrong signals. The authorities need to take tough action against troublemakers to ensure society at large continues to support genuine refugees, he said.

The public prosecution department said again on Tuesday that there is not enough evidence against the six to secure a conviction.

Heijmans hit the headlines last year when he admitted helping a Syrian family, consisting of a mother and her four children, go into hiding to avoid being deported.