'Half of our population has moved abroad...but I'm trying to persuade them to return home'

BRITAIN is the top destination for many Albanian migrants desperate to make their fortune.

- Zak Garner-Purkis

But the mayor of one region hit hard by depopulation has told us how he is battling to stop them.

Albert Halilaj offers tax breaks to those who return as part of his ambition "to help everyone who is living in England come home".

Kukes Municipality has lost more than half its population to migration since 1990, many settling in the UK.

A recent poll found two-thirds of those interested in leaving Kukes in 2023 wanted to move to Britain.

The number of Albanian migrants crossing the Channel to get to the UK has soared from 50 in 2020 to 12,301 last year, mostly young men.

Last year's figure was far higher than from any other nation.