MORE than 60 Sudanese refugees are heading to Bolton after being offered the chance of a new life.

The group - considered by the United Nations to be among the most vulnerable refugees in the world - will arrive in the borough from camps in Uganda after fleeing ethnic cleansing, rape and torture in Sudan.

Bolton Council has agreed to take them in as part of the governments Gateway Protection Project which saw 80 Liberian and Congolese refugees housed in the borough in 2004.

Council leader Cllr Barbara Ronson said: "These are people who have suffered terrible hardships and we hope they will receive the same warm welcome as the previous group.

"The last project was a real success with refugees going on to take up paid jobs and education and playing a valuable role in communities."

The Christian refugees were driven from their homes in Southern Sudan when militias, backed by the Muslim Sudanese Government, began a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing in 2003, following a 20 year civil war which saw 70,000 people killed and two million citizens forcibly displaced.

The refugees have already had English lessons and will receive cultural orientation sessions, teaching them about the UK before they arrive in Bolton.

They have been granted refugee status by the Home Office, meaning they have indefinite leave to remain and the same rights as British citizens, unlike asylum seekers who have to apply for permission to stay in Britain.

The first group of 30 refugees will arrive on Monday with the remainder flying in from Africa next month.

They will be housed in private, housing association and council homes which have not recently been available for rent. All costs in settling them will be covered by the Home Office.

There are currently around 600 asylum seekers and refugees in Bolton with around 300 living in council properties.

The arrival of the latest group means that fewer asylum seekers are likely to be allocated to the borough by the Government through its dispersal programme.