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First Calais child migrants arrive at 'respite centre' in Devon | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The first child migrants from Calais have arrived at a "respite centre", a council has confirmed. | |
Devon County Council says 23 children from the "Jungle" camp have arrived at the temporary centre near Great Torrington. | |
The youngsters - who are all believed to be male and under the age of 18 - arrived by bus at about 03:00 BST. | |
The migrants, originally from Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria, could stay in Devon for up to six weeks. | |
It's believed they will receive medical checks before they are reunited with family members or moved to other parts of the country. | |
Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox said he hoped the community would "rally round" as up to 70 children are expected to be sent to the centre in total. | |
More on the child migrants, plus other Devon and Cornwall news | More on the child migrants, plus other Devon and Cornwall news |
The exact location of the centre is not being released. | |
The children were transported from Croydon, south London, where they were taken from the Jungle camp by a private security company. | The children were transported from Croydon, south London, where they were taken from the Jungle camp by a private security company. |
The Home Office said they were unaccompanied, vulnerable children. | The Home Office said they were unaccompanied, vulnerable children. |
Mr Cox, MP for Torridge and West Devon, said: "I hope that the community will feel that we need to rally round to assist these very vulnerable young people on compassionate grounds, if nothing else, because I firmly believe we need to do our part to assist what is a terrible situation that has been allowed to develop in Calais." | Mr Cox, MP for Torridge and West Devon, said: "I hope that the community will feel that we need to rally round to assist these very vulnerable young people on compassionate grounds, if nothing else, because I firmly believe we need to do our part to assist what is a terrible situation that has been allowed to develop in Calais." |