The first Middlesbrough asylum seekers' homes with controversial red doors have had their entrances repainted, the services giant with the contract to house them has said.

Doors on the properties in the Gresham area will be repainted a variety of colours so that they will not be so easily identifiable as housing asylum seekers.

The issue blew up last week when The Times revealed that asylum seekers were housed in properties with red doors that made them a target for racists and vandals.

Peter Neden and John Whitwam of G4S and Stuart Monk, of local sub-contractor Jomast, will appear before the Commons Home Affairs committee today to discuss the controversy.

The repainting process began on Monday, G4S said.

A number of doors have been given a grey undercoat. And painters have started applying a purple top coat to at least one home.

A spokesman said: "I am reluctant to confirm exactly what colours they are repainting them in.

"They are not our properties, they belong to Jomast, and they are conducting the repainting.

"They have confirmed to us that the red doors will be repainted in a range of different colours, and not one predominant colour."

The spokesman said G4S challenged the assertion that Jomast properties occupied by asylum seekers all had red doors, saying it was "only a proportion".