THE first group of Syrian refugees will start arriving in Worcestershire at the end of June - with their locations officially confirmed.

Worcestershire County Council says three families, comprising of eight refugees in total, will be housed in Redditch to kick it off.

A further four families are then expected to arrive in mid-July, with two of them resettled in Kidderminster and the other two in Redditch.

Work has now also started to approach more private sector landlords across the rest of Worcestershire, including central Worcester, to identify more homes to settle other families in later this year.

Council chiefs say the initial arrivals, which have come slightly earlier than expected, follow the arrangement of a deal with an outside body.

Refugee Action, an independent charity based in Wolverhampton, has 30 years' experience in the field and will provide what County Hall calls an "integration and independence service" for the Syrians.

The arrivals are subject to the finer details of that contract being agreed, but council chiefs say most of the formalities are now done.

The announcement has been on the cards ever since the Worcester News exclusively revealed in early-May how the Home Office was preparing to charter a plane to fly them over.

All in all, 50 Syrians will be taken in across Worcestershire this year, contributing to David Cameron's stated figure of 23,000 arrivals into Britain by 2020.

Councillor Lucy Hodgson, cabinet member for localism and communities said: "We're all aware of the terrible suffering that is being caused by the war in Syria, and we are very proud that Worcestershire will house some of the most vulnerable people affected by this conflict.

"It has always been vital we ensure the right infrastructure and support networks are in place to fully support arriving refugees, and help every individual settle into their new community.

"This has only been made possible thanks to the superb work of everybody involved."

"We are grateful for the hard work of our staff, partner organisations, including local housing authorities and the Home Office, and for the fantastic response we have received from the great number of volunteer groups across the county who have offered support."

A spokesman for Refugee Action said: "Refugee Action is delighted to be working with our partners to welcome Syrian refugees across the county over the coming months."

The county council now says it wants more private landlords to contact them direct if they have suitable homes.

As we revealed earlier this year, the Government will fit the whole bill for 2016 and then offer £5,000 per head for 2017 to cover the costs, working out at £250,000.

Under the deal, the Home Office will carry on funding the support for Worcestershire's Syrians every year up to 2020.

* EXCLUSIVE: 50 Syrian refugees heading to Worcestershire 'within weeks'