Drunken migrants in a refugee shelter in Germany have rioted, smashing doors and property as well as robbing, attacking and injuring security staff.

The incident began in the facility in the district of Reinickendorf, north Berlin, after security discovered their office had been looted and the door broken down, Berliner Morgenpost reports.

Tensions then escalated after the staff decided to switch off the lights at around 2am. Around 50 migrants began to riot, punching and kicking the security personnel and vandalising cars nearby.

The staff ended up barricaded in a locked room before police were called and around 30 officers scrambled to the scene to rescue them.

Once of the security personnel was reportedly rushed to hospital with a head injury.

Police said that many of the migrants appeared to be drunk when the arrived, and insisted they would press charges of disturbing the peace, grievous bodily harm and property damage against the ‘refugees’, the DPA news agency reports.

The security staffs later suggested the riot may have been planned, as tensions between them and the residents had been building for some time.

Crime, vandalism and riots are becoming increasingly common the German migrant centres since more than half a million “refugees” arrived from the Middle East and Asian last year.

Many of the incidents are caused by religion and alcohol. A huge brawl was triggered in January in the Leimen camp in Baden-Württemberg after Pakistani migrants accused Afghanis of being “bad Muslims” for drinking alcohol.

In 2015, riot police were forced to barricade themselves inside a building after a migrant centre in Thuringa was turned into a “war zone” after a torn Koran and “religious differences” between different Muslim sects sparked fury.

And in June this year, a huge migrant centre in Düsseldorf’s was deliberately burnt down by its residence, who were reportedly angry that they had not received a wake-up call to eat their Ramadan meal before sunrise.