Article 50: Brexit divisions exposed in multi-cultural Norfolk
Splits are growing in areas where migrants face an uncertain future, while some Brits just "want England back".
Wednesday 29 March 2017 20:41, UK
A statue of Captain Mainwaring stands guard in the Norfolk town of Thetford, where the much-loved sitcom Dad's Army was filmed.
As a symbol of old-school British pomposity and empire-fuelled self-reliance, the fictional wartime bank manager has few peers.
Maybe his presence influences voters here, too, as, last year most people chose to leave the EU despite - or perhaps because of - the large number of European migrants who have arrived in recent years.
Many of those newcomers have put down roots, such as Klaudia Szydlowska, whose daughter was born in England and is due to start school in September.
While stacking shelves in one of the town's several Polish stores, she admitted Brexit and the of Article 50 have left her unsure about their future here.
"That is worrying, upsetting of course because you don't know what you should do with yourself.
"Should you go back now? Should you stay and wait and then just wait for English people, English Government, to kick us out? I don't know."
The Government has said it hopes to do a deal to secure the rights of EU citizens already living here, but with no promises.
With the clock now ticking before Britain is out, most migrants here are worried.
Karolina Czech and her husband moved to Britain from Poland five years ago and bought a flat before the referendum.
They say they aren't sure what would happen to it if they had to leave.
"It makes me worry about my future because it's just unknown so we cannot plan a lot of things," she says.
And for people like Natalia Gorczowska, who has lived here for 11 years, Britain now feels more like home than Poland.
"I can't imagine myself going back. I have no friends over there - all my friends are here," she tells me.
But for many British locals, Brexit can not come soon enough - whatever the potential .
"They come for free healthcare and free handouts," said one man.
"We want England back. It's our country so we want to stand on our own two feet," a woman added.
Portuguese businesswoman Marlene Vieira, who owns a town centre hair salon, disagrees.
She says losing migrants would harm Thetford.
"We move the economy in this town," she said. "It's not really the British people moving the economy in this town so I think if we leave this town is going to die completely. This will be a ghost town."