A MAYOR in a small German town says primary school-aged girls should not “provoke” migrants to avoid being sexually assaulted.

The comments came last week at a city council meeting in the eastern town of Bad Schlema, which has a population of 5500, with about 100 locals showed up to raise concerns about the town’s 85 refugees.

The grandfather of a schoolgirl, aged “under 10”, asked Bad Schlema’s mayor, Jens Muller, what his plans were to prevent sexual assaults on children, who had already been harassed by newly arrived migrants on their way to school.

The grandfather said parents were particularly concerned about what would happen as the weather gets warmer and the girls wear less clothing.

“That’s easy,” Mr Muller said. “Just don’t provoke them and don’t walk in these areas.”

The comments immediately caused uproar, with furious residents yelling: “In your own country! You can’t even walk in your own city anymore! They come here and we’re not allowed to walk here anymore!”

Others called for the mayor to step down, asking, “Who the hell elected you?”

Another said sarcastically, “Yeah, let’s all keep one metre distance. So easy!”, referring to controversial comments by the mayor of Cologne following the New Year’s Eve mass sex assaults.

In response, the mayor said: “Well, it’s technically not necessary for the girls to walk there. There are alternative routes for going to school. This is just the way it is. Do you think [sexual harassment] doesn’t exist among Germans?”

According to local news site Freie Presse, the mayor threatened to call the police if the attendees didn’t calm down.

“If you don’t abide by the rules, I’ll call the police and they’ll evacuate,” he reportedly said.

Earlier this month, Facebook was accused of censorship after a video uploaded by a German teenager detailing her personal experiences of sexual harassment by migrants was allegedly removed under “hate speech” guidelines.

In the video, 16-year-old Bibi Wilhailm described how she was now scared to go out with her friends. “I am so scared everywhere,” she said.

“For example, if my family and I go out together, or if I see a movie with my friends. Usually I stay at home, but sometimes I stay out until 6pm in winter, and it is so scary. It is just very hard to live day-to-day life as a woman.”

Miss Wilhailm said one day a “a terrible thing happened at the supermarket” causing her to run all the way home. “I was so frightened for my life. There’s no other way to describe it,” she said.

She went on to describe how one day during summer she and her friends were called “sluts” for walking outside in a T-shirt.

“Yes, we were wearing T-shirts. It’s summer! If we feel like wearing it, we will wear it!

“And you Muslims have no right to physically assault or rape us for it! God willing, never in my life. You have no right to attack us because we are wearing T-shirts. You also have no right to rape.”

Pools across Germany have begun handing out flyers with cartoons teaching migrants not to harass women following complaints about offensive and dangerous behaviour, The Times reported.

It comes as a new report estimates migrants will cost Germany $76.72 billion (€50 billion) by the end of next year.

The Cologne Institute for Economic Research found shelter, welfare and integration policies will cost $34.26 billion (€22 billion) this year, and a further $42.99 billion (€27.6 billion) next year.

Growing reports of crimes by migrants has led to a dramatic slump in support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and a rise in the fortunes of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany.

Authorities in Cologne have announced extra security measures for the city’s week-long carnival celebrations, which start tomorrow, including increased police numbers and special “safe zones” for women.

Germany took in more than 1.1 million migrants last year.