Migrant children abandoned in UK

A COUNCIL has been left with a £1million bill after a group of ten Vietnamese children were abandoned in a village.

The ‘highly vulnerable’ girls and boys aged 13 to 16 ended up in rural Shropshire after coming to the UK from France in the back of a lorry.

They were taken into the care of the local council after they were spotted escaping from the rear of the vehicle, but the authority says it cannot afford to cover the cost of their ‘complex safeguarding needs’ and ‘high flight risks’.

Peter Nutting, leader of Tory-run Shropshire Council, said the situation has cost more than £1million and was one of the reasons it now needed to save an extra £5million by the end of this financial year.

The children, who were with six adults, are believed to have been trafficked and endured extremely traumatic experiences. They were spotted in Battlefield, near Shrewsbury, on March 11. The adults were detained by Home Office officials.

Councils have a legal responsibility to care for children who arrive in their area from abroad. More than 4,200 child asylum seekers were in council care last year – up 54 per cent on the previous year.

Councils get government funding of £114 a day towards the care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, but Shropshire Council said it is not enough in this case.

The Home Office said: ‘We are currently conducting a review of the funding arrangements.’