Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown has urged the UK Government to use a former MoD site at Prestwick Airport to house Afghan refugees.
Ms Brown believes the former HMS Gannet, which was decommissioned five years ago, could be an option to house refugees fleeing the Taliban in their former home country.
The SNP politician says the empty houses at the site could be used to accommodate Afghan families in South Ayrshire.
The homes, which are mostly situated around Prestwick Airport, have remained empty since the helicopter search and rescue operation at HMS Gannet was decommissioned in 2016.
Ms Brown said: “The UK Government should be maximising every opportunity it can to find a home for Afghan refugees fleeing a horrific situation.
“In South Ayrshire, we currently have around 100 homes that are still owned by the MoD but no one has lived in them for five years.
“This is an opportunity for the UK Government to show its compassion for refugees coming from Afghanistan that they are able to provide them a safe and warm home where they can start to rebuild their lives.
“The UK Government must take its share of the responsibility for creating this situation and using disused MoD homes will provide them with an option of how to home a number of families who have had their lives turned upside down.”
The UK Government has committed to take around 5,000 Afghan refugees in the first year and 20,000 over the coming years.
But Ms Brown wants Westminster to increase those numbers.
She added: “Boris Johnson should commit to increasing the number of refugees that the UK brings in and maximising derelict sites like the one at Prestwick Airport will allow the UK to take in more refugees and take responsibility for the situation.”
An MoD spokesperson said: "Work is underway across the whole of government to ensure that those Afghan nationals who stood side by side with us in conflict, their families, and those at highest risk who have been evacuated, are supported as they now rebuild their lives in the UK.
“We continue to work closely with the Ministry for housing, communities, and local government, the Home Office, and devolved administrations to identify how we can best assist, to ensure that these families are housed in areas in which they can easily access services they need.”
HMS Gannet, a former Royal Navy Search and Rescue base, completed its lifesaving mission on January 1, 2016 after more than 40 years of operations from Prestwick Airport.
The baton was then passed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency contractor Bristow Helicopters, who took on the responsible for delivering search and rescue coverage across Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland.
HMS Gannet had been on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, since 1971.
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