REFUGEES from Afghanistan could be set to be housed in Thurrock.

Details remain scarce but Thurrock Council has confirmed it has contacted the government offering its support for any resettlement initiative that is implemented.

The offer comes at a time when the waiting list for local people to be housed by the council tops 7,000 but it is not clear if taking refugees if that happens will have any impact on the list – or the system of residents 'bidding' for available properties.

A council spokesperson said: "Thurrock Council has written to Her Majesty's Government offering to take part in the Afghan Interpreter Resettlement program and we will continue to work with Government to support the resettlement scheme that has been announced following the situation in Afghanistan.

"Thurrock Council has not agreed to take any specific number of Afghan refugees nor have we currently been asked to do so. The council will respond once the request has been received.

"The council has not offered, nor been asked, to provide council housing to refugees."

The government says the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme will aim to allow 5,000 Afghans to settle in the UK, with the long-term goal a total of 20,000.

It will focus on women and children as well as religious and other minorities in greater danger from the Taliban.

The scheme will be modelled on the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which aimed to take in "those in the greatest need, including people requiring urgent medical treatment, survivors of violence and torture, and women and children".

They were identified by the UN and then vetted by the Home Office before being granted the right to settle in the UK.

The government met its target of bringing over 20,000 people - half of whom were children - over five years between 2015 and 2020, and the Home Office said it was the "largest resettlement scheme in Europe".

The UK has sent about 900 troops to Afghanistan to help evacuate British nationals and Afghans who are eligible to resettle in the UK.