THE REFUGEE camp at Grand Synthe, third biggest suburb in the French city of Dunkirk, is home to 3,000 refugees and is in woodland off a residential road, opposite neat semi-detached homes.

Grand Synthe is a modern looking town, extensively rebuilt and enlarged after World War Two, with a shopping centre similar to Petersfield. An aid worker met the Post team in the car park of a sports store about five minutes away from the camp and took them there.

Once in the camp, as well as handing out the clothing, boots and tents donated by Petersfield residents, the team helped give out much need butane gas bottles for cookers.

Post reporter Lewis Brown said: “I was carrying a sports bag full of butane gas to hand out to the refugees, most of whom were sheltering from the cold in their tents.

“They are vital in the camp, and many families were in desperate need of them for cooking.”

"People never really think about the people on their own, it’s always about the families."

The aid worker from the charity Aid Box Convoy from Bristol made the point that those living on their own sometimes slipped through the aid net.

He said there could sometimes be a danger when this happened as people became isolated and desperate, and it was also difficult for people on their own to settle in.

Lewis said: “This particular moment made me realise the natural instinct in a crisis like this is to prioritise aid to families but everyone is just as desperate and worthy of help, and that can be easily forgotten.”