NEARLY half of Ukrainian refugees accepted to stay with hosts in Tendring have not yet reached the country, new figures show.

The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, also known as Homes for Ukraine, allows citizens to volunteer to house refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Home Office data shows 110 visas have been granted to stay with hosts in Tendring, out of 128 applications.

But as of Monday, just 59 of these refugees had arrived in the UK.

The Refugee Council said it had received reports of delays at every stage of the application process, and of necessary documents not reaching refugees quick enough for them to travel.

Head of advocacy at the charity, Andy Hewett, called the scheme "unfit for purpose".

He said: “Responding to a serious humanitarian crisis by offering complex visa routes, putting paperwork and bureaucracy before people was always going to have tragic consequences."

Some families are also not having their applications processed together, creating difficulties when not all visas are granted at the same time.

Others have flagged the potential for safeguarding issues from a lack of thorough checks on prospective sponsors.

There have been national reports of refugees becoming homeless after being turned out by their hosts.