Scotland has welcomed more Syrian refugees under the government's resettlement programme than anywhere else in the UK.

The first details of the distribution of Syrian refugees around the UK under the government's expanded resettlement programme have been revealed.

Regionally, Scotland took by far the greatest share, with 610. That is more than a third of the total 1602 Syrians who arrived across the UK through the initiative in the six months from October.

Over the same period Yorkshire and the Humber is the area with the next highest number at 171, while none were resettled in the North West and 33 were placed in London.

The first group arrived in Glasgow in November and since then more than 600 refugees have settled in council areas across Scotland from Aberdeen to Argyll and Bute.

Since then children have started at school and parents have begun to learn English.

David Cameron announced plans to step up the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme last year after public outcry over the fate of those driven to attempt to make the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean by boat.

The Government has pledged to resettle 20,000 people from the region around the war-torn country by 2020.

Earlier this year it was revealed that the scheme is expected to cost more than half a billion pounds.

In terms of council areas, Coventry has taken the highest number of all local authorities, with a total of 105 between October and March, figures published by the Home Office show.

It was followed by Nottingham, which received 81 refugees in the period. A total of 71 local authorities accepted people under the scheme, which is voluntary for town halls.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

"We have committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme over the course of this parliament - and have already provided refuge to more than 1,600 people in need of protection.

"There has been a tremendous amount of goodwill from local authorities and the private, non-governmental and voluntary sectors as well as from individuals across the UK.

"We are very grateful for all the local authorities who have offered their support and will continue to work with them to identify further opportunities to resettle Syrian families."