Kirklees Council has pledged to help ease the refugee crisis - and could house some of the refugees.

The authority is looking at practical ways of offering help but has been unable to say if this means taking in refugees or providing clothing and other items.

Cabinet member Cllr Erin Hill, who is responsible for family support and child protection said: “People are escaping countries and regimes where some of the worst human rights abuses in the world take place, and where war, hunger, absolute poverty and fear are constant.

“We must work with national government, faith communities and aid agencies to respond to what is now a humanitarian crisis. Together we have to find a way, collectively, to respond quickly and provide proper support for refugees.

“In and amongst the international politics are real human tragedies. Many refugees have seen parents, siblings and children die in front of them, either as a result of conditions and atrocities in their homeland, or of the difficult journey to Europe.

“This is not a debate about open door immigration. It is about us providing a home – as Britain has done in the past - to desperate refugees. People don’t undertake such incredibly dangerous journeys to Europe unless they have absolutely no other option.

Protesters demonstrate with a banner 'Refugees welcome!' in Dresden, eastern Germany, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. A refugee shelter was attacked by far-right protesters in Heidenau near Dresden over the last weekend. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

“Kirklees is committed wholeheartedly to supporting these efforts. We are currently looking at practical ways we can assist with this crisis. There will be a point where, perhaps through the Local Government Association, we have to ask government for help with the costs, but that time is not right now. Our efforts now must be to offer the safe haven these desperate families need.”

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Meanwhile Clr Kath Pinnock, a Cleckheaton ward member and a vice-president of the Local Government Association, said she was “appalled at the callous response by the government to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Europe”.

Migrants gather in front of the reception center for refugees and asylum seekers as they wait for registration in Berlin, Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

She called on the LGA to “put pressure” on the government to accept refugees from Syria and other war torn states, saying: “One action we can take as Local Government is to shame the Government by offering to house refugee families. The Government must also play its part in providing funding for such a scheme.”

The LGA later responded that councils are playing their part, saying: “Any support offered by councils must be on a voluntary basis where support can be adequately provided”.