Six refugees tried to seek asylum in the county as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children since 2014, but age checks found they were not children.

Two were aged between 19 and 21, one was 20 years old and three were assessed as being at least 18.

The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request, relate to the 2014/15 and 2015/16 financial years when the county took in 64 unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

One brazen asylum seeker pretended to be just 14 years old. Three of the six pretended to be 17 years old while two claimed to be 16.

Between November 2014 and March 2015 Staffordshire County Council took in six unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Three of these, all men, pretended to be children when they were in fact adults. These figures include the man who pretended to be 14.

This means half of the asylum seeking children seeking refuge in the county in that period were not children.

Then between April 2015 and March 2016, a further three adults were caught pretending to be children. However the county council did take in 58 unaccompanied asylum seeking children during the period.

These cases have been referred to the home office who process their claims as adult asylum seekers.

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But UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge, who covers Staffordshire and the West Midlands, said the asylum seekers should be 'immediately expelled'.

He said: "If these people have been aged checked and found to be over 18 and if they have arrived in the UK from a country considered safe then they should be immediately expelled as tolerating law breaking should not be part of our immigration policy."

Councillor Mark Sutton, the council's cabinet member for children and young people said: "Every unaccompanied asylum-seeking child or young person arriving in Staffordshire has their age assessed by a specialist team of social workers and in circumstances of young people above the age of 16, placements are usually made in independent supported accommodation.

"Those who are assessed as being over 18 are referred to the Home Office who process their claims as adult asylum seekers accordingly."