MP Praises Local Refugee Support Efforts

Tim Farron MP has praised the "fantastic work" of local refugee support groups, as he helped to load an articulated lorry with aid bound for refugees in Syria and Turkey.

The large articulated lorry which was today loaded in Kendal represents the culmination of a long campaign effort by local groups. The efforts were coordinated by a group which started as the South Cumbria to Calais Solidarity and Relief group, who then joined forces with Ulverston Refugee Support, Furness Refugee Appeal and RESSCU. The shipment of aid which left Kendal today is being sent in collaboration with the charity Syria Relief.

Tim joined a group of around forty volunteers who helped to load the lorry with donations destined for refugees in camps in Syria and Turkey. The cargo included hundreds of boxes of warm clothes and shoes, as well as nappies and toiletries. There were also well over a hundred tents, and around five hundred sleeping bags. These supplies will be increasingly critical as winter begins to set in.

Tim said: "Once again, the people of Cumbria have shown themselves to be generous and compassionate, and I am immensely proud of this fantastic effort by local people which will make a real difference to the lives of many refugees. I would like to thank all those who have organised and donated to this project.

The refugee crisis is far from over yet, and is likely to worsen as winter approaches.

I will continue to press for the government to do more to address the refugee crisis. In particular, I have called on the government to offer refuge to 3000 unaccompanied child refugees."