He may be a model student, a fluent English speaker and have a wealth of work experience under his belt, but Sergejs Pogildjakovs can't find a job in Luton.

Why? Because he isn't able to speak Polish!

The 18-year-old Latvian, who starts a degree at the University of Bedfordshire next month, arrived in Luton in December, looking forward to earning some money and improving his English ahead of his starting his studies.

But despite his willingness to work, and a CV that includes translating and event organising, Sergejs has had nothing but trouble trying to find a job - because he cannot communicate with his Eastern European neighbours who are already working in the town.

Since 2004, when Poland and Latvia were among the 10 countries that joined the European Union, businesses in Luton have been welcoming migrant workers with open arms.

More than 8,000 people from Eastern European countries have registered to work in Luton in the last four years, and it is estimated that about 30 in every 1,000 workers in the town are from the new EU member states. The vast majority of them are believed to have come over from Poland.

University of Bedfordshire