A total of 11 migrant children have been placed into foster care in Ealing after arriving from the Calais camp.

Ealing Council said two girls aged 15 and 16, who had been staying in Calais but are originally from Ethiopia and Eritrea in Africa, were collected by social workers on October 22.

They were placed into foster care in Acton following Home Office checks, after first arriving in Croydon from the migrant camp.

Two boys, both aged 15, were welcomed into the borough on Tuesday (October 25) and placed into foster care with a further three boys, aged between 11 and 13, arriving on Friday (October 28).

Last week an operation began to clear and close the camps in Calais, known as 'the Jungle'.

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The arrival of these seven children in Ealing fall under the Dubs amendment , agreed in May, which vows to take "vulnerable unaccompanied child refugees" who were already in the EU before March 20.

Another four have arrived in Ealing under the Dublin 3 legislation, which means they will be placed into care by the council before being united with their family in the borough.

'We must step forward to help'

Labour Ealing Council leader, Julian Bell, who visited the camp in the summer, said: "Anybody who has seen pictures on the television of the terrible conditions these children have been in can't not be moved to compassion and say we must step forward to help.

"We live in a rich developing country and this is just a handful of children, and it is shameful that French and British Governments are trying to pass the buck between each other as to who is responsible for these children."

The arrival of migrant children from Calais sparked controversy earlier this month, with many questioning if they were in fact over 18.

Conservative MP for Monmouth, David Davies, said the children should be subject to dental checks or hand x-rays to determine age.

He argued this would prevent Britain's services being abused, before his request was described as "inappropriate and unethical" by the British Dental Association.

Commenting on the row over migrant ages, Cllr Bell said the council was satisfied by Home Office checks and would, if it had doubts, conduct a Merton test.

During a Merton test social workers interview the migrant to determine background and likely age, however Cllr Bell said he did not believe any of Ealing's recent arrival prompted suspicion for the test.

He added: "The British Dental Association said these tests (checking teeth) are not accurate and all local authorities have a set procedure for determining age.

"My experience told me there were plenty of kids in that camp who were all under 18 and needed to get out."

A number of people took to Twitter to criticise the council, who said it expects another three migrant children to arrive this week.

Perminder Purewal said: "Not sure if we can have anymore refugees in Ealing it's over populated and over crowded already!"

However, other people using the social networking site praised the council, including Nick Jones, who said: "This is good news. #Ealing doing it's bit for desperate #Children."

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