World Jewish Relief (WJR) will help more than 1,000 Syrian refugees acclimatise to life on British soil in a new five-year initiative, it has been revealed.

The charity, which until now has devoted its time to providing relief and aid overseas, said it was turning its attention to helping refugees in the UK following "calls to act from our supporters and the wider Jewish community".

So far, WJR has raised over £820,000 for its work supporting refugees in Greece and Turkey.

However, according to a spokesperson, "we could not ignore the volume and intensity of calls for us to bring that international work to the UK to support some of the 20,000 Syrian refugees who will be arriving here over the next five years".

Adopting the same model they have used in the last few years for developing livelihood opportunities for people in the former Soviet Union, the charity will run an employment programme that will enable refugees to improve their language skills and grant them access to vocational training, work placements and post-employment support.