THREE vans and ten cars will be making the journey to Calais this week after hundreds of Corsham residents dug deep to provide essential winter supplies for child refugees and their families abroad.

Thousands of items were donated to the Wiltshire for Refugees Christmas Appeal held at The Pound Arts on Tuesday (December 12), following the screening of an emotional film which looked at the journey many refugees faced.

Volunteer Klaire Alexander said: “The thought of young children and their families facing such horrific situations in these make shift camps is awful at any time, but with Christmas approaching it is almost too much to bear.

"I am honoured to be involved with the Wiltshire for Refugees Christmas Appeal and, seeing the way the town has rallied together, think this is a wonderful example of the true meaning of Christmas to set my four young children."

A convoy of volunteers from charities across the South West will be taking the items over to Help Refugee's warehouse in Calais before they are distributed to refugees in Northern France, Syria, Greece and Serbia.

Isla Russell, one of the appeal organisers from Wiltshire for Refugees, said: "It is easy to forget how lucky we are to have a bed, a blanket and a roof over our heads. For thousands of refugees this Winter, including young children and babies, these basic human needs are completely out of reach.

"I have been moved to the point of tears to see the generous spirit of Corsham and their desire to help people in dire need this winter.

"I hope residents from other Wiltshire towns will contact us via Facebook about running similar activities in the new year.”

Martin Campbell from The Pound Arts added: “It was important to act quickly after such a positive response to the film screening of Born in Syria in November and offer the community of Corsham a local opportunity to respond to the global refugee crisis.

"We had no idea what to expect on Tuesday but the response was just incredible. It’s wonderful to see Corsham uniting– in this case, sharing what we have with refugees who truly need it.

"A big thank you to everyone that got involved and has offered hope to refugees worldwide.”