A £1 million government scheme for asylum seekers has been branded a failure after leading to just one family going back to their country of origin.

The Millbank Pilot scheme in Ashford had room for 260 families but dealt with just 13, with only one returning home.

The scheme was aimed at reducing the number of children locked up in detention centres each year.

But a report by charity said it was a missed opportunity to find a humane and effective alternative to the detention of children and families.

Lisa Nandy, Children’s Society policy adviser, said: "Although we strongly supported the Government’s decision to set up the Millbank Pilot we have serious concerns about the way it was designed and implemented.

"We believe it is vital that the UK Border Agency should use the lesson from Millbank to inform all future projects, which provide alternatives to detention."

The project was set up in November 2007 as a 10-month experiment, which the charity says was too short a time.

It says there were flaws in the way the scheme was planned and managed.

The Children’s Society believes this led to it failing to reduce the number of children going through detention and increasing the number of families voluntarily returning to their own country at the end of the asylum process.

The report also highlights how families were inappropriately referred to the project, who were not able to go back to their country of origin for various reasons.

It says this made the job of those running the pilot virtually impossible.

The UK Border Agency says that keeping families out of detention is its priority.

It says a new pilot project in Glasgow offered families temporary housing and build on what was learned from the experience at Ashford.