GETTY•HUMPHREY NEYMAR Hundreds of refugees lied about their age to enter the UK

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A 29-year-old was among the dozens of “child refugees” who were taken given asylum in Britain after migrants lied to officials and posed as youngsters to gain entry to Britain, official figures have shown. Social workers carried out official age assessments of those who were given refuge in Britain, however a staggering number of those allowed into the country were found out to be much older than originally believed.

GETTY Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Britain was taking the 'most vulnerable' refugees from Calais

Some of those admitted were nearly 30-year-old and may have posed a risk to foster families and schools had they not been checked. Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday found that 50 local authorities from across England carried out 2,028 age tests between 2013-14 and 2015-16 and that almost one in four – a staggering 465 – were found to be over the age of 18. It comes after concerns were raised about the ages of those allowed into Britain from the Calais Jungle.

The figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act found that the oldest claimant, who said he was 17, was actually ‘assessed as 29’ by Hampshire County Council in 2014-15. Portsmouth City Council found one male refugee who claimed to be 17 turned out to be 26. While in Manchester in 2013-14, a woman said she was 17 but was actually 26, while in Newcastle, a man claiming to be 17 was found to be 26. In some areas, nearly all the claimants examined turned out to be over the age of 18.

GETTY How many refugees Britain should take has been a political sticking point