GLOUCESTERSHIRE will be soon be welcoming the first Syrian refugee families to the county.

To help the government meet its commitment of taking 20,000 Syrian refugees into the country over the next 5 years, the region will see three families arriving in both Gloucester and Cheltenham before Christmas.

The news follows Cotswold District Council’s announcement last week that it going to allow five Syrian refugee families to set up home in the district.

Leader of Gloucestershire County Council Mark Hawthorne, said: “We have been working closely with the district councils and Gloucestershire Association of Refugees and Asylum Seekers to see how we could respond to the government’s commitment to bring the first families out of the refugee camps before Christmas.

“As a result our county will be receiving three families in mid December. The first family will come to Gloucester, with the second and third to Cheltenham. This is the early stages of the government’s commitment and we would expect to receive more families as time passes.

“Gloucestershire is united in its support, and I have been really impressed with how positively everyone has responded. Councillors, staff, local people - we are all in this together, to help change the lives of those fleeing the horrific events in Syria.”

The first family will arrive in Gloucester on December 15 and two more families will then move to Cheltenham.

Gloucester based charity GARAS, who have been working with refugees and asylum seekers in the county since 1999, will supporting councils in the region accommodate the refugees.

Adele Owen, director of GARAS, said; “Gloucestershire has a long history of helping those most in need, and we’ve been working in the county for 16 years to help refugees and asylum seekers coming to our towns and cities.

“I am pleased that the councils and other partner organisations, including faith groups, are coming together to work in unison to help welcome the people who have suffered horribly in their home countries.”