Theresa May has committed almost £750 million in aid funding to help tackle the migrant crisis.

The Prime Minister said an extra £660 million of the aid budget would be diverted to focus on humanitarian relief - with much of the money expected to be used to support the refugees driven out by the bloody conflict in Syria.

A further £80 million will be spent on helping Eritrean migrants stay in Africa - with the country being one of the main sources of people attempting to reach Europe.

Mrs May unveiled the funding commitments, along with £2.5 million for an international fund, at a summit hosted by US president Barack Obama in the margins of the UN general assembly in New York.

The £660 million takes the 2016/17 humanitarian commitment to £1.5 billion, 10% higher than the previous year.

UK officials said the money would not just be spent on Syria but would be able to help some of the countries hosting refugees who have fled the conflict there.

The money could also be spent in parts of Africa which are experiencing refugee problems, or any natural disasters that require a humanitarian response.

The UK has also done a deal with the Ethiopian government, World Bank and European Investment Bank to help create jobs in the African country.

Two new industrial parks will create 100,000 jobs - with 30,000 of them going to refugees, expected to include many from Eritrea.

The move is part of Mrs May's desire to encourage refugees and economic migrants to stay closer to their home countries rather than travel to Europe.

Of the 124,000 refugees that crossed the Mediterranean to Italy between January this year and September 12, some 12% were Eritrean - the second largest group of those crossing, behind Nigerians.

The project will involve £80 million of funding from the Department for International Development. The £2.5 million will be added to an international fund established by the UN and the International Organisation for Migration