THE PETERSFIELD based Rural Refugee Network is stepping up its efforts to rehome Syrian refugee families and lone children from the devastated country.

Co-founder of the charity Julia Thistleton Waugh said: “Our latest family is just arriving, and we are now renewing our appeal for landlords who would be willing to home refugees. What we need is smaller one and two bedroom homes for couples, and young parents with one child, but there is still a need for bigger homes.”

Rural Refugee Network (RNN) works with Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District Council, and national aid charities such as the UN Refugee Agency and the Red Cross.

It also numbers among it’s supporters East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds.

It aims to ensure refugees it helps re-home are supported until they are self-sufficient; so far four families have been housed locally and is now also helping unaccompanied Syrian children.

Emily Mott heads the volunteers helping the youngsters, some from camps in France, and all of whom lost their parents and families in the savage civil war in Syria.

Emily can’t identify them, or where they are, but RNN has helped resettle some of the traumatised youngsters “locally in Hampshire.”

But she says some are having to go into care, and even live outside Hampshire.

She said: “We’re really pleased that Hampshire County Council is committed to settling 167 lone children, but most already here are in care as there simply aren’t the foster carers available.

“This means some children are going out of county but Hampshire is paying for the care, so we are holding another foster parent recruitment day in April.”

For more about RNN, or to offer a home for rent, or become a foster parent, visit the website www.ruralrefugeenetwork.org