REFUGEES will be welcomed with open arms into a Furness town should any arrive.

Members of Ulverston Town Council agreed to do all they can to support displaced people seeking sanctuary in South Lakeland.

Cllr Colin Pickthall highlighted the town's history of helping people in need, and proposed that the council pledge to do as much as it could to help those who needed it.

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"Positive noises have been made as far as helping as much as we can with taking in refugees, particularly from Syria," said Cllr Pickthall. "Ulverston has always been helpful and welcoming to people in distress. We had Kosovan people in Ulverston for a while and they were embraced to the point where many didn't want to leave when it was safe for them to do so.

"The county council said at the beginning of last year that they were prepared to take in 15 families, which doesn't seem like many.

"The government then came back to us and said don't bother doing that, and by the time they came back again and said they could do with places for refugees we had had the floods.

"We are a small council of a small town and we can't do a vast amount. We have got to commend the work of the refugee support group in Ulverston, who have collected clothes and blankets and sent them to Greece and I think we can do some more.

"I have identified a number of accommodation units which are empty. They must belong to somebody but maybe there would be room to accommodate some refugees."

While all councillors agreed that Ulverston should do as much as it could to help refugees, there was uncertainty as to how much help it could feasibly provide.

Cllr Pat Jones pointed out that such help could not be provided without the suitable infrastructure.

"The schools are full, the doctors are full," she said. "We must get all of that in order before we offer to help these poor people."

Cllr James Airey agreed with Cllr Jones, adding: "I agree with everything Cllr Pickthall has said, but we have to be careful. Ulverston might not be the right place to integrate refugees. There might be a better place in Cumbria.

"It is difficult enough for rural folk to get around Cumbria and get a job. There is a shortage of foster care and adoptive parents for children who would have to go through social services.

"We have to take a holistic look at this and we have got to have the infrastructure. If six or eight families come into Cumbria it is best to put them in a place where they can communicate with each other."

The council voted to support refugees wherever it was feasible and possible.