TWO Aberystwyth friends are preparing to drive to northern France to deliver supplies and help out in the “inhumane” refugee camps.

John Gibson, 34, and Alex Jessop, 26, became friends while both were studying countryside management at Aberystwyth University.

And now they have been busy collecting clothes, sleeping bags and tinned food, and raising more than £400 to allow them to be able to deliver the supplies to refugees living in camps in Calais and Dunkirk.

The pair will set off on Saturday, 2 April, carrying supplies in the car and on a donated roof rack.

When they arrive at the camps, John and Alex will spend five days helping support the on-site volunteers by sorting supplies in the main warehouse, cooking, serving and dispatching food to refugees, and also helping build shelters in the camps.

John and Alex, who were members of the Scottish Reeling Dance Society while at university, said they were doing it to show solidarity with the refugees who continue to live in terrible conditions.

“I felt obliged to go after hearing of the horrendous chain of events that have led to these refugee camps appearing in France,” said John, who is now studying for a Masters degree in managing the environment at Aberystwyth University."

To follow Alex and John’s experiences, visit their blog at: www.helpcalais.wordpress.com

To donate funds for John and Alex to help support the volunteers in the camps, visit: www.crowdfunding.justgiving.com/CalaisRefugeeHelp

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