A GRANDMOTHER of seven from Blaenau Ffestiniog who returned this week from helping refugees on the Greek isl­and of Leros has described her time there as a life-changing experience.

Caron Dukes, 56, spent one week with four other mothers helping refugees fleeing Syria on the tiny Greek isl­and just seven miles from the coast of Turkey.

Caron became involved with the Cefnogi Ffoaduraid (refugee solidarity) Dwyfor and Meirionnydd group in September after witnessing the horrors of the humanitarian crisis in Syria on the news.

The mother of three, who works in the advertising dep­artment of the Cambrian News, said she felt compelled to “go help out in any way she could” and described the scenes she witnessed as “worse than you see on TV”.

Leros, a tiny island of 8,000 residents, has been struggling to cope with the influx of refugees on its shores, and has received far less in the way of aid donations than some neighbouring islands, such as Kos. "The trip was a real eye-opener,” Caron said.

“From the moment we got there, we were faced with complete despair, the people have literally nothing."