How Chesterfield people can help refugees in Calais this Christmas

The Chesterfield Stand up to Racism and Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity groups are collecting winter coats and food and hygiene packs which will be delivered to Calais over Christmas.

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Donations can be dropped off at Chesterfield Town Hall between 10.30am and 11am on December 19.

People can also email Chesterfield Stand up to Racism via [email protected] to arrange alternative ways of donating items.

Chesterfield Stand up to Racism said it recently received a message from Andy Brown, a duty manager at the Care4Calais depot in northern France, who said: “It's bitterly cold in Calais with a biting north wind.

“We have hundreds of refugees in scattered small camps in the undergrowth, huddled in tents, if the police haven’t taken or slashed them.

“About 150 are under the canal bridges in town. Others are under the overhanging roofs of closed shops and a sports centre or in derelict shells of old industrial buildings.”

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