SOUTHEND should be welcoming up to 100 refugees not ten – that was the verdict of a packed meeting of charity workers, church groups and Labour councillors.

Councillors Julian Ware-Lane and Cheryl Nevin, who represent Milton ward, will be tabling a motion calling for extra refugees to be accommodated amid concerns the current figure is well below what the borough can cope with.

A strong turnout of 137 people, including representatives of Christian Aid and the Southend Cal Aid charity, packed into Crowstone Church, Westcliff, to discuss the crisis, triggered by an influx of Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war in their homeland.

The Home Office plans to rehome 20,000 Syrians from refugee camps in the Middle East and Southend Council has offered to welcome ten refugees, who will be housed in private rented accommodation.

People attending the meeting said Southend should take at least 50, with many voting for 100. The Rev Melanie Smith, minister at Crowstone Church, who led the meeting, said: “Southend Council has offered to take ten refugees.

“I think there is perhaps some room to press the council that ten isn’t enough and that, as the people of Southend, we may want to press them to take more than ten individuals.”

She added she understood the council was having to cope with government-imposed budget cuts, but said she believed the authority could accommodate a “slightly higher” figure.

Councillor Ware-Lane said the borough’s plan to take on ten families was about a fifth of what it should be offering in proportion to its population as a percentage of the entire country.

He added: “We are aware of the budgetary issues, but Southend’s offering is not very generous and I think it could be more generous.”

At the end of the meeting, the attendees were encouraged to fill out forms stating how they could help the refugees, whether by offering accommodation, befriending them or other services.