Rutland County Council is working to support families who are in immediate danger after serving with the UK Government and British troops in Afghanistan.

For over 20 years, British soldiers were given support by thousands of locally employed staff in Afghanistan, many of them acting as interpreters and translators.

As forces withdraw, workers and their families are left vulnerable and at risk of being targeted by the Taliban.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has called on all Local Authorities to offer accommodation and support, as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates every day.

Central government says it hopes to relocate all families that are known to the military for providing vital services by the end of September. Local Authorities have been asked to support the Government's efforts to work at pace to relocate around 3000 people (600 families) across the country.

Chief Executive of Rutland County Council, Mark Andrews, said "Rutland County Council is committed to doing everything it can to ensure the safety of interpreters and other locally employed staff who risked their lives supporting British forces in Afghanistan.

"We have a long history of ties to the armed forces and supporting asylum seekers here in Rutland, and we recognise the debt of gratitude we owe to these people.

"We are working proactively with our partner agencies to find solutions to issues such as local housing capacity in order to help these people safely through this unimaginable situation."

Rutland County Council are working in partnership with councils and services across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to establish and deliver support as part of the Government's Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP).

Earlier today, as reported by Nub News , Rutland MP Alicia Kearns called on the MOD to use some of its property in Rutland to help Afghan refugees who had previously helped UK and NATO forces in their country.

To find out more about ARAP, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-to-bring-vulnerable-afghan-interpreters-to-the-uk-accelerated