A FOREST councillor found himself isolated when he questioned the size of refugee families coming to Gloucestershire.

The Forest Council’s Cabinet has agreed to house, on average, two Syrian families a year over the next decade.

But Tory councillor Gethyn Davies (Tidenham) didn’t find any support when he asked how many people were likely to be in each family.

He said: “I have full sympathy for these people because without a war it is a terrible place to live.

“When you say a family, will that be a man with two wives, three wives?”

Labour councillor Di Martin (Cinderford East) said the question was “just beyond” and leader of the council Cllr Patrick Molyneux (Con, Hewelsfield and Woolaston) said they were “standard family units as we understand it.”

But Cllr Davies came back, saying: “I have worked there – a standard family unit is a man, two wives and probably six children.”

Cllr Molyneux said: “These are real refugees, living in terrible places and I think as human beings we have a duty to step up to plate.”

The refugees will be relocated to the Forest as part of the government’s scheme to take families from camps in the Middle East, said Cabinet member for housing Carole Allaway Martin.

She said: “Families are significantly vetted in the camps and are in dire need of somewhere they can settle.

“The Forest of Dean population I’ve spoken with – and that’s hundreds and hundreds of people – are very supportive of this.

“The families that are coming are in need of care but they also bring a wealth of experience and skills that potentially we need.”

Cllr Martin said: “We are talking about two families a year. I don’t think we have anything to be worried about, I think we should proud.”

Cllr Richard Leppington (UKIP, Blakeney and Bream) said the full costs of relocating people to the Forest needed to be understood.

He was told all the costs would be met by the government and not the council.