SOMERSET is set to welcome six refugee families in the coming weeks as part of a national programme to support those fleeing war-torn Syria.

Somerset’s five district councils, county council and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are supporting the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (SVPRS).

The UK Government has pledged to settle 20,000 Syrian refugees over a five-year period, including 1,000 in the first group, and has sought volunteer councils to offer resettlement. The six families – 12 adults and ten children – are set to arrive near the end of March or early next month.

They are being resettled in the Taunton Deane, Mendip and South Somerset districts – two families in each of these districts.