SYRIAN refugees who were given sanctuary on Bute have reportedly complained that the island in “full of old people”. 

A family who were housed in Rothesay eight months ago as part of a UK-wide resettlement scheme were reported as saying they were struggling to adjust to their new lives.

Abd, whose name has been changed to protect relatives back home in Syria, said he had been making trips to Glasgow to find work.

READ MORE: Game of Thrones stars urge EU leaders to help Syrian refugees

The father-of-two told the Mail on Sunday: “I didn’t expect to come to this island. We thought we were going to London or Manchester. But whenever we say anything about moving off the island, we are told: ‘We had to pay a lot of money to bring you here’.”

His wife, Rasha, said the island was “full of old people” and described it as “where people come to die”.

Rasha’s sister, Fatima, and her husband Hassan, said they were also struggling to settle on the island.

Both men previously ran their own businesses in Syria before being imprisoned.

READ MORE: Game of Thrones stars urge EU leaders to help Syrian refugees

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesman said: “We are disappointed that two families are not happy on Bute.”