Hundreds of children in care have been placed more than 20 miles away from home in Surrey, new figures show.

A children's charity has said the care system is "on its knees" and is not meeting the needs of young people.

Figures from the Department for Education show 963 children in care in Surrey as of March – 392 (41%) of which were placed more than 20 miles from home.

A year earlier 352 of 1,019 (35%) children were away from home.

More than 83,000 children were in care across England as of March, with 18,040 (22%) placed at least 20 miles away from their home.

Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become – a charity for children and young people in care – said children being moved due to a lack of suitable homes nearby is "simply not good enough".

She said: "The persistently high number of children in care means no let-up for a system that’s already on its knees and failing to meet the needs of young people."

"We’ve heard time and again from children in care the devasting impact this has when they are separated from brothers and sisters and pulled out of their school, which often happens without warning and sometimes multiple times a year," she added.

She urged the Government to take "decisive action" to stop these numbers getting worse.

There were 11,180 children in care in the South East as of March – 3,200 (29%) of which were placed 20 miles away from their normal area.

There were significant differences between English regions – 32% of children in the South West faced long distances from home, compared to 13% in the North East.

Linda Briheim-Crookall, head of policy and practice development at Coram Voice, said being moved can make it difficult for children to maintain relationships and support networks.

"This directly impacts their well-being but can also make it more difficult to access other activities and services like mental health support," she added.

A Department for Education spokesperson said they want to make sure every child has the opportunities they need to thrive.

"We’re already investing £40 million to recruit more foster carers and better support kinship carers, as well as providing £400 million to open more children’s homes where they’re most needed.

"For too long, the children’s social care system has been left to fester, but we are now determined to deliver meaningful reform once and for all to deliver better life chances for some of the most vulnerable children in our country."