COUNCILLORS in Poole are to call for the borough to take in dozens of refugee children over the next 10 years.

A motion being put to the council next week will call for it to support at least 30 children over the next decade to mark the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

In 2015, at the height of the Syrian civil war, Cllr Brooke led calls for the council to support 10 refugee families a year but his proposals were watered down by fellow councillors. to include no specific figure.

The borough has one of the highest levels of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in its care systems of Dorset’s local authorities, partly due to those arriving through Poole port.

Figures reported by the council in September showed that it was responsible for 24 youngsters – double the number being cared for in Bournemouth.

However, Cllr Brooke has called for the council to pledge to support “at least three” additional children every year for the next 10 years.

The motion going to the council’s meeting on Tuesday (November 13) urges councillors to support Lord Dubs’ Safe Passage initiative – 80 years on from the Kinder Transport in which 10,000 Jewish children arrived in the UK following Kristallnacht.

“There are a lot of children who are unaccompanied and fleeing conflict who need our support,” he said.

“We should be taking in some of those affected by the horrors of war and urging the council, and other local authorities, to support the Safe Passage initiative.”

The motion add that, if the issue is not resolved prior to the abolition of Poole council next year, it is taken up by the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole authority.