MORE than 1,000 refugees are missing from the region after failing to arrive at their allocated accommodation.

Home Office figures reveal that one in five asylum seekers never gets to the place allocated for them to live.

Records show that out of 4,629 asylum seekers given accommodation in the North-East, only 3,606 - or 78 per cent - arrived. Therefore, 1,023 refugees have lost contact with support services and could be working illegally in the region.

John Tincey, director of information and research for the Immigration Service Union, said: "Asylum seekers disappearing in the North-East is a big problem, but with the current system there is no real way to stop it.

"When they find themselves far away from the main sources of work and contacts in the South-East, they simply disappear."

Home Office officials say they were aware of the problems with the scheme and are working to close the loopholes.