More than 1,300 vulnerable children in care have been moved into Kent.

A council report has revealed around 500 of those are going to schools managed by Kent County Council.

Around 53% of the children are from the capital, with 28% from the inner-London boroughs.

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Most of the youngsters are being placed in the east of the county with Canterbury, Swale and Thanet taking the most into their schools.

Thanet councillor Lesley Game (Con), told councillors at the children, young people and education cabinet committee there is a "stigma" around such vulnerable children.

She said: "I know a lot of the schools are coming out saying the children are being sent down from London or wherever and they are causing trouble.

"This stigma or these accusations towards children in fact is getting worse and that really concerns me.

"I think somehow we need to control that."

She added social media pointed the blame at such children "immediately after" the fire at Westwood Industrial Estate in Margate.

It has been reported three girls and a boy from the town have been arrested on suspicion of arson.

"I know a lot of the schools are coming out saying the children are being sent down from London or wherever and they are causing trouble" - Lesley Game

She said: "It has to come out how these numbers are coming down and, in fact, a lot of these children are in proper care places and the crimes and anti-social behaviour is not just them."

While the numbers are in decline in Thanet, this is not the case in Swale where there are more children in care from outside of Kent than those who grew up in the county.

This has added pressure to school waiting lists as children in care take priority before other children, including those who live locally.

While the responsibility of these children remains with the local authority which placed them, KCC has to ensure the pupils access suitable education.

Director of education planning, Keith Abbott, said: "The picture is based on the school census information.

"The vast majority of our schools has got fewer than five of these children in their entire school.

"There are only four mainstream secondary schools that have got more than 10 other local authority children in care on roll.

"However, the numbers show some of the challenges being faced by a number of our schools, particularly those in some of the more deprived parts of the county.

"They are not particularly about the other local authority children in care but the combined impact of the demand of the existing local population plus the support they need to provide for Kent and other local authority children in care in a tough financial back drop."

He added the co-operation between KCC and other local authorities to improve placement decisions was "bearing fruit" but "we have got to keep working on that".

On top of this more than 234 children in similar circumstances have been moved out of the county, with the vast majority in Medway.

Despite the children moving out of the county, KCC remains responsible for them so the local authority monitors their progress.

Director of specialist children's services, Sarah Hammond, wrote in the report: "Children placed outside of Kent are identified as a particularly vulnerable group, as are likely to be further away from their extended family, local community and peer group.

"Due to the distance to some provisions, it is more challenging to provide emergency support through additional social worker visits.

"The work of the virtual school will need to enhance the support we can provide to children and young people placed outside of Kent.

"There are clear targets and plans in place to raise the educational attainment and achievements for these children and increase their participation within our services."