EASTERN Europeans who have come to work in Worcestershire and Herefordshire have been making a positive contribution to society and the economy, the Polish consul for the West Midlands has said.

Mike Oborski's comments come as the Home Office revealed that more than 37,000 Eastern Europeans have come to work in the South West, which includes the two counties, since the expansion of the European Union in May 2004.

The Home Office has said it does not have specific figures for Worcestershire and Herefordshire but Polish people make up the vast majority of those on the worker registration scheme - just over 200,000 - followed by Lithuanians and Slovakians.

The Worcestershire and Herefordshire area is known for having a large Polish community, however, since they first arrived after the Second World War when demobbed military units came over.

Mr Oborski, who is a Worcestershire county councillor, said there were about 800 Polish people in the Kidderminster area alone, with large numbers also in Redditch, as well as communities spread across the other areas of the two counties.

He said they were not competing with English people for jobs, but rather filling gaps in certain areas where there were skills shortages.

For instance, a company approached him looking for HGV drivers because they couldn't recruit any in the area.

Mr Oborski said many were employed as seasonal workers in rural areas but also that companies such as Kidderminster-based luxury yacht manufacturer Sealine were recruiting large numbers because of their ship-building skills. He added: "Most of them are settling in very well and are not having a great problem. They generally like it here and find it an easy place to live.

"There are no major cultural differences, they drink beer and watch football and like the English."

The Home Office statistics reveal the South West region has been the destination for eight per cent of the 427,095 registered workers who have come to join the UK from the eight countries which joined the EU in May 2004.

The top three areas were administration, business and management services (9,700 workers), hospitality and catering (8,495) and agriculture (7,920).

CBI director general Richard Lambert said: "The UK has benefited greatly from the hard work of migrants from new accession countries such as Poland and Lithuania.

"They've helped with skills shortages across the economy, particularly in the construction and hospitality sectors."