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A DESPERATE plea has been made for council chiefs in Worcestershire to help the Syrian crisis - with campaigners saying they have a "moral and humanitarian duty" to act.

Worcestershire County Council is being asked to do a u-turn on its refusal to help a potential project to house war-torn Syrian refugees.

As your Worcester News revealed in June, the Conservative leadership rejected a motion to take in 12 refugees under a Home Office scheme amid concerns over the estimated £150,000 annual costs.

But in the aftermath of the shocking image of a dead toddler, aged three, who washed up on a beach in Turkey on Wednesday, Liberal Councillor Tom Wells has put together a petition he wants the whole county to sign to force a re-think.

A motion is also being put together for the next full council meeting at County Hall on Thursday, September 17, calling for a vote after this week's events jolted the conscience of Europe.

It comes as Prime Minister David Cameron changed tack on the growing humanitarian crisis today, saying the UK was now prepared to take in "thousands" more Syrian refugees from UN camps bordering the stricken country after thinly-veiled criticism from other EU leaders.

This afternoon both Malvern Hills District Council and Wychavon District Council have put out statements saying they need time to clarify what the PM expects from local authorities before taking matters any further.

The Old Bush Inn in Callow End has also made a huge appeal today for county people to hand in unwanted items like clothes, food, toys, shoes, tents and sleeping bags which will be put on a lorry and sent to Calais, France to help refugees stuck there.

Councillor Wells said: "They refused to help 12 Syrian refugees but things have clearly escalated since, and I'm calling upon the county council to play its part - I think the people of Worcestershire now expects it too as well.

"We cannot sit by and watch the suffering and death of refugees fleeing violence.

"Local authorities across the country should respond by taking in refugees - we have a moral and humanitarian duty to do so."

Councillor Wells said his motion will not give a 'quota' on the number of refugees he thinks Worcestershire should help, leaving it for debate at the meeting, where he will call for the county to provide “solace” for migrants.

He added he's already seen "a groundswell of opinion" for it within his village, where The Old Bush Inn's landlord Matthew Williams said a lorry of goods will be sent towards Calais in early October.

The pub, in Upton Road, will accept almost any unwanted items including shoes, tents, belts and jackets.

Mr Williams said: "The situation is pretty sick really. This is about us trying to help, you do whatever you can do."

Councillor Adrian Hardman, county council leader, has not ruled out helping but says he is still concerned about the costs.

He said: "As you’ve seen today, the Government is expanding its relocation scheme after taking in 5,000 Syrian refugees and 200-plus vulnerable people – clearly now there’s been a shift in policy but more details will be announced next week.

"Our concern remains the same, we expect it to be fully funded, but we have always said we are willing to put our ‘shoulder to the wheel’, so we await further details.

"From our point of view we'd want to ensure we could re-settle them sensibly, where there are school places and jobs - I also expect this to come up as a topic at the next leader's board meeting (all the council leaders in Worcestershire) on the 21st of September."

He added that one of the main sticking points is that district councils are responsible for housing, and any scheme the county does decide to join would need their support too.

The old Home Office scheme was mainly aimed at metropolitan areas and encouraged councils to relocate up to 12 refugee families, with funding only guaranteed for one initial year.

Officers at County Hall produced a report in the summer suggesting the annual cost of keeping them after that could be anywhere from £100,000 to £150,000, a bill which would have to met by Worcestershire taxpayers in the event of Home Office support ending.

Uncertainty over that led to the Conservative leadership deciding to go no further, despite severe pressure from the likes of Amnesty International and some members of Malvern Hills District Council.

Only three parts of the country have taken in a dozen each, with critics pointing the finger largely at central Government rather than the local authorities.

Jack Hegarty, the managing director of Wychavon District Council, said: “We are currently waiting for more detail following the Prime Minister’s announcement, in particular which areas the Government feels would be most suitable to relocate refugees to and the funding arrangements.

"We expect that detail will be forthcoming over the next few days and we will then discuss our response with all our partners at a meeting of Worcestershire council leaders later this month."

Councillor Melanie Baker, the cabinet member for housing on Malvern Hills District Council, said: "We have always been clear the reason Malvern Hills District Council and our partners are currently unable to support the Syrian refugee programme is the lack of Government funding, which means the significant financial shortfall would be picked up by South Worcestershire taxpayers.

"However I contacted the minister asking for a meeting to stress the importance of the Government changing its stance on funding so we could review our position – clearly this is now the case."

"We are now awaiting more detail following the Prime Minister’s announcement, in particular which areas the Government feels would be most suitable to relocate refugees to and the funding arrangements.

"We expect the details will be forthcoming over the next few days and we will then discuss our response with all our partners at a meeting of Worcestershire council leaders later this month.

"However I must stress, the reality remains we would only be able to offer support with the involvement of our partners as part of a wider South Worcestershire plan and if proper funding is made available by the Government."

* To sign Councillor Wells' petition, which will be handed to the council in time for the September meeting, visit HERE.

ROBIN WALKER CONTACTS NUMBER 10 AFTER RESIDENTS’ CONCERN

WORCESTER'S MP has contacted Number 10 to voice his concern on the migrant tragedy after being bombarded with emails from city residents.

Over the last day or so more than 100 constituents have emailed Robin Walker, with some of them saying the British Government should be "ashamed" of its stance so far.

Mr Walker said he did not agree with that view, telling your Worcester News he thinks the Prime Minister's approach is right.

David Cameron has vowed that Britain will act with "head and heart" and take in thousands more refugees today, all from existing UN camps bordering Syria.

No specific figure has been given but the UN refugee agency said the UK would take a further 4,000 Syrian refugees, but more details on how it will work will not be announced until next week.

Earlier this week the premier said accepting more people was not the simple answer to the situation, described by some as the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two, despite 300,000 people signing a petition.

Mr Walker said: "I've spoken to Number 10 to say the level of feeling I've had from constituents is very strong.

"We have to be very careful of a knee-jerk reaction that may do more harm than good, but it's right that we do what we can and the Prime Minister is right to ensure that if we take refugees they are from the camps around Syria, rather than illegal trafficking.

"It would be counterproductive if we just open up and take everyone in, then we'd have even more people risking their lives to cross the border."

He added: "I've been appalled and shocked at the pictures.”

A petition calling on the UK to accept more refugees has now got more than three times the 100,000 signatures needed for it to be eligible for a possible debate in parliament.