THE first refugee family from the Syrian conflict will arrive in East Lothian towards the end of this month.

East Lothian Council has agreed to welcome seven families a year over the next five years to help out during the conflict.

A spokeswoman for the local authority told the Courier: “Since East Lothian Council announced that we would be accepting refugee families from the Syrian conflict, we have been overwhelmed with the number of positive messages of support we have received from the local community. These far outweigh the very few negative comments.

“We would like to thank everyone for the compassion they have shown and support they have offered. We know that we will be welcoming our first family towards the end of this month and local groups have been pulling out all the stops to make sure that the refugees are well-equipped for the tail-end of a Scottish winter.”

Among those helping out are East Lothian Aid for Refugees, which has been collecting donations and putting aside items that could be used by the incoming families.

It has gathered clothing and shoes of all sizes, as well as toys and food packages.

The council spokeswoman added: “East Lothian Council will use Facebook and other social media sites to communicate specific updates or messages about any needs or support the refugees require and will continue to work closely with the local community and ELAR.

“All of the families are coming directly from official UN refugee camps and we have chosen their new East Lothian homes in accordance with availability of housing of all tenures and other necessary issues such as medical and educational services."

“Our refugee families will eventually be resettled across several of the county’s larger towns.”