THE number of Romanian migrants living in Barnsley has risen by more than 8,000 per cent in the last decade.

The figures from the Census show 3,646 people born in Romania resided in the town at the end of March last year.

It’s up significantly from the 45 who lived here in 2011.

Romania joined the European Union in 2007, but citizens were not afforded full freedom of movement until 2014.

Romanian citizens are now the fourth-most populous foreign-born group across England and Wales, behind India, Poland and Pakistan.

In Barnsley, 15,730 people - 6.4 per cent - were born in another country up from 3.4 per cent ten years earlier.