HEREFORDSHIRE is set to welcome more refugees who have fled war and devastation.

Members of Herefordshire Council's cabinet agreed to support more refugees as part of the Home Office’s various resettlement schemes at a meeting last week.

The council will confirm to the Home Office that it can support up to 40 asylum seekers and 35 refugees in family groups.

Councillor Paul Rone, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "When the big hearted county of Herefordshire agreed to welcome and re-settle 60 Syrian refugees in 2015, we certainly didn’t envisage just how well the families would settle into their new homes and fully integrate into their local communities.

"The scheme has been a great success, with 14 families safe and happy in Herefordshire, and I’m pleased that we now have seven individuals volunteering within the county, while four have found employment.

"The Home Office is now asking us to consider taking additional refugees, as it continues with its different resettlement schemes.

"We’ve been able to demonstrate that our public services, local communities and voluntary sector can provide the necessary support to enable families to successfully integrate into the county and develop independence; therefore we’re now in a position to support up to 40 asylum seekers and 35 refugees in family groups.”

Councillor Anthony Powers, leader of It's Our County, said: "It's clearly the right thing to do and it's a good thing to do and I would like to commend everybody both within the council who has been involved in the success of what we have achieved but also those volunteers, families and everyone else who has helped to make this work as well as it has.

"I think we have reason to believe that the big heart of Herefordshire will continue to beat."