Hundreds of Albanian migrants who are illegally sneaking into Britain by posing as child refugees are putting school pupils and foster families at risk

• Official reports reveal hundreds falsely claim asylum as youngsters
• They're given free school places and homed with foster families
• Their behaviour puts other pupils and female carers at risk
• About 500 Albanians came to Britain last year claiming to be lone children
• Issue exposed in detail by number of Croydon Council reports and meetings over past two years 

Albanian migrants who illegally sneak into Britain posing as child refugees are putting school pupils and foster families at risk, shock official reports reveal.

Documents uncovered by The Mail on Sunday show that head teachers have been forced to take 'disciplinary measures' against asylum seekers feared to be adults.

One report said some schools had 'rejected children' over suspicions they were older than they claimed.

Albanian migrants who illegally sneak into Britain posing as child refugees are putting school pupils and foster families at risk, shock official reports reveal. 

Another study revealed Albanian youths have been removed from foster families because of 'their behaviour towards female carers', with social workers blaming it on 'the gender assumptions of Albanian males'.

The shocking developments come weeks after controversy over the age of some of the 300 migrants arriving in Britain from the demolished Jungle camp in Calais last month, with widespread calls for them to undergo dental X-rays to establish how old they really are. 

But an investigation by this newspaper shows this is the tip of the iceberg. 

Almost 500 Albanians arrived in Britain last year claiming to be lone children – entitling them to a school place, a foster family and support until they are 25 – but close to half had their applications rejected.

We can also reveal how the abuse of the system is so great that the Home Office set up a secret operation to check the real ages and family backgrounds of hundreds of rejected claimants with the authorities in their Balkan home country.

Last night Chris Philp – MP for Croydon where the asylum claims are processed – said: 'I am aware of problems with people who end up getting put into foster homes and placed in schools when they're clearly not under 18. 

It puts strain on resources, causing disruption and there are also safety issues.

'We do need more rigorous checks and I think dental checks are a reasonable thing to do to make sure we are not being taken for a ride or putting other children at risk.'

HOW CROYDON COUNCIL KNEW OF PROBLEM

July 2015: A report to Croydon Council highlights concerns about attitudes of Albanian ‘children’ towards women carers

January 2016: Officials warn about the age of refugees placed in schools

The problems caused by Albanian Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) are exposed in detail by a number of Croydon Council reports and meetings over the past two years.

There are currently 433 child refugee claimants in the South London borough – 214 Albanians but just 11 Syrians. Almost all are adolescent males, which leads to problems in classrooms and at home.

A committee report from January this year warned: 'There also continues to be concerns around the age of some of this cohort as evidenced by their behaviours and attitudes which are resulting in schools following disciplinary processes.' 

In March, councillors were told: 'Some of the schools have rejected some of the children as they needed to be age-assessed.'

Another report from July 2015 admitted: 'The fostering service has experienced breakdowns of placements for this particular group because of their behaviours towards female carers… The Albanian social workers explained the gender assumptions of Albanian males from the country districts.'

In September this year councillors were told foster placements have to be found in two hours although age assessments can take 28 days, and 'this can present a safeguarding issue in foster homes or school environments when the applicant is significantly older than he claims'.

Another report said Albanians 'were the largest ethnic group in the Youth Offending System' and they 'tended to offend on each other'.

Officials said they had been involved in 'a variety of offences' including affray and theft. Overall the number of people coming to England illegally and registering as UASC has doubled in two years to reach 3,253 in 2015.

If they are accepted it means they are treated as 'children in need' by local authorities and quickly put in a foster home, given a school place and cared for until they are 25 – a better level of treatment than that given to adults seeking sanctuary.

But councils have to make sure they are not lying about their real age, in order to protect other children.

A report last week revealed there is also a 'recent rising trend of individuals presenting as UASC but appear to be an adult'. 

A total of 789 'complex' age disputes were carried out in 2015, the Association of Directors of Children's Services said, and 'around two-thirds were considered to be over the age of 18'.

In 2010 this newspaper revealed that two Guinean asylum seekers spent a year at a secondary school in Middlesbrough before it was discovered they were in their 20s.

Latest figures show far more would-be child refugees come from Albania, which is on its way to joining the European Union and where there is no current conflict, than war-torn countries, such as Syria.

Last year, officials made 583 decisions on young Albanians' asylum claims, accepting 299 but rejecting the other 284.

Over the past five years, 115 out of 218 Albanians who had age assessments have had their asylum claims rejected specifically because they were deemed to be older than 18.

Many more are suspected of being older than they claim, but are rejected simply because their stories of persecution and 'blood feuds' are dismissed.

In response to fears 'that Albanian adults were falsely claiming to be children', in 2013 the Home Office set up a project codenamed Operation Coldspell to trace the families of rejected claimants with the help of the Albanian authorities, so that they can be returned home.

Migrants have been 'lying about their age for benefits for YEARS