THE number of EU citizens coming to Cumbria to work has plummeted since Britain voted to leave.

It’s a trend that experts fear could cause costly problems for some employers in Cumbria if it continues to accelerate.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions have revealed that 1,724 European people came to the county from overseas in the year ending September 2018 and registered for National Insurance.

That number is down from 2,032 registrations in the year ending September 2017, and a drop of 17.5 per cent from 2,091 in the year ending in September 2016, just after the referendum.

It is a similar picture across the UK, where there were 619,683 National Insurance number registrations from adults coming from Europe in the year ending to September 2018.

This is down from 738,069 registered in the year ending in September 2017 - and a 25 per cent drop from 822,231 on the year of the Brexit vote.

The figures,obtained by immigration solicitor Alex McAll, of Carlisle-based Wragg Mark-Bell, show a pronounced variation between the districts of Cumbria, with the drop in EU immigration being most sharply felt in areas such as Allerdale and south Cumbria where the tourist industry relies on European labour.

In Allerdale, the figure decreased from 319 in 2016 to 236 in 2018.

Barrow recorded 151 in 2016 and 114 in 2018.

The area of South Lakeland had 802 in 2016, with 623 in 2018.

In Eden, they recorded 279 in 2016, with 237 in 2018.

While in Carlisle, there were 493 in 2016, and 454 in 2018.

Copeland was the only area to record an increase with 47 in 2016, and 60 in 2018.

As Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn held talks in an attempt to break the Brexit deadlock yesterday, Mr McAll said: “These figures confirm a trend which could prove difficult for Cumbrian employers.

“I believe we are the only solicitors dealing with immigration in Cumbria so we have been aware for some time of the anxiety being felt by EU workers because of the ongoing uncertainty about Brexit.”

The firm has seen a significant increase in its immigration work as EU migrants worried about Brexit explore options to protect their families living in the UK.

Mr McAll added: “The uncertainty around Brexit has obviously worried a lot of people some of whom have decided to go back to their home countries or elsewhere in the UK, but those with more established jobs, homes and family ties are doing what they can to stay here.

“We have seen an increase in work around helping people with their applications for settled status and there has also been a rise in the number of people applying for British citizenship.”

Rob Johnston, chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said: “Hospitality and food-processing sectors in Cumbria are heavily dependent on EU migrant workers.

“If the Government turns off the supply, these sectors are going to find it even harder to recruit staff given that there is almost no unemployment in some parts of the county and our working-age population is shrinking.

“We know of hotels in the Lake District where more than half the workforce is made up of EU migrants.

“Some tell us they might go out of business if the supply of migrant workers dries up.”

Jaroslaw Jakubia, of Vistula, the Polish Community Association for Cumbria, said: “Politicians are making a big mess of Brexit. The uncertainty is forcing people to make decisions about their future - I applied for British citizenship because I care about the future of my kids.

“But Brexit is not the main reason for less EU citizens coming to the UK. The economic situation in Poland has changed, with wages going up.”

If a Brexit agreement with the EU that contains similar provisions as the Government’s proposed Withdrawal Agreement, it is expected there will be a transitional period. EU citizens and certain family members who want to stay in the UK after Brexit will have to apply to continue living in the UK after June 30, 2021.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, then it is expected that applications will need to be made by December 31, 2020. To be eligible for settled status, EU citizens need to have lived in the UK for at least six months in any 12-month period for five years in a row. If people have not lived here for five years in a row, they may still be eligible for pre-settled status.