Surrey County Council are looking for foster carers who are younger and from more ethnically diverse backgrounds.

A new report has shown how the county is being hit by a national shortage of carers, and said the authority needs to find foster parents for an extra 130 children.

Currently 38% of the children in foster care with Surrey County Council have been placed outside the county, while 5% are in Surrey but over 20 miles from their family home.

The average age of foster carers is nearly 54 meaning many will reach retirement age within 10 to 15 years.

Surrey County Council is targeting potential fosterers in the 21 to 45 age group, in the hope of reducing the number of children in care.