THOUSANDS of toiletries were donated to a community group working with refugees in France and Greece.

To mark the start of Refugee Week, Wiltshire for Refugees held a donation day in Corsham last Monday (June 18).

More than 650 bottles of shampoo, 500 toothbrushes and 250 towels were donated, along with children’s and adults’ underwear, insect repellent and suncream. The campaign group also put up a tent in The Pound car park which was filled with 11 tents generously donated throughout the day.

Many of the items donated would have ended up in landfill, but clothes and toiletries were bought new by people in the town.

The tents will be going to Calais and Dunkirk in France, and toiletries will be going to the Leros refugee camp in Greece.

Susan Soulsby, of Wiltshire for Refugees, said: “Families are sleeping rough in desperate conditions in Greece and Northern France.

“Refugee camps have poor or no sanitation. Summer temperatures are burningly hot and children frequently have little or no shade.

“Our charity partner, Hope & Aid Direct was able to tell us which items are needed most urgently and we put out an appeal to the people of Corsham to help us collect these items.”

Schools, nurseries, church and community groups got involved with the initiatives, and local businesses also helped provide transport for the first part of the journey to the refugee camps.

They estimate that more than 100 members of the community were involved.

Julie Owst, who donated toiletries and children’s underwear on the day, said: “I can’t imagine what it would be like to be forced to flee your home and the country you love because of war.

“I can’t bear to think of my children having to spend one night in the dreadful conditions you see the refugee children living in.

“The scale of the refugee crisis is so daunting but these donations will really help the individuals who receive them.

“They show that people miles away in a small town in Wiltshire really care, and this makes it all worthwhile.”

To find out more about Wiltshire For Refugees, please visit their Facebook page or email wilts4refugees@gmail.com.

People wishing to donate items to refugees cam do so regularly in Frome. More information can be found at https://raise.today.

To contribute to transport costs for this convoy, donations can be made to Hope & Aid at www.hopeandaiddirect.org.uk