A Bavarian mayor has blocked Ukrainian refugees from registering in his town, claiming there are no more spaces in its nurseries, schools and accommodation centres.

Jürgen Fundke, mayor of Bad Griesbach, caused a standoff with district officials in Passau after he rejected their request to accommodate 35 Ukrainian refugees.

The Passau district office, which oversees migration affairs, then sent a letter to Mr Fundke ordering him to let the Ukrainians register in his town, prompting him to respond: “I’ll read that at Christmas.”

He has since dared the officials to suspend him over his refusal to accommodate the refugees, which he says is because the town has already fulfilled its refugee target and has no capacity for them.