THE North-East has taken a greater share of Syrian refugees than any other region of England as part of plans to resettle 20,000 across the UK by 2020.

While Scotland has taken by far the greatest share of refugees under the scheme so far, with 862 – a third of the total number who have arrived – the North-East has taken 302, followed by the west Midlands where 276 were located.

Meanwhile 97 were resettled in London, 96 in the east of England and none in the North-West, which instead had 9,000 asylum seekers receiving support under a different system.

More than a tenth of the 20,000 Syrians the Government has pledged to resettle have been brought to Britain so far, the latest figures show.

Previous prime minister David Cameron announced plans to step up a resettlement initiative in September after a public outcry over the fate of those driven to attempt the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean.

The Government pledged to give refuge to 20,000 Syrians from the region around the war-torn country by 2020.

Home Office figures show that between the start of October last year and the end of June, 2,646 people have arrived under the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme.