A COUPLE will make a film of them giving out donations to Calais refugees and send it to their MP, Prime Minister David Cameron.

Andy and Hannah Bailey from Witney decided last week they could not stand by and watch the television pictures of refugees struggling in northern France any more.

They put out an appeal on Facebook asking friends to donate clothes, blankets and shoes so they could deliver them to some of the thousands of migrants living in official and unofficial camps around Calais.

But they were not prepared for the response they got.

The couple, both 25, now have 10 bags of clothes, five bags of toiletries, 11 sleeping bags, 11 roll mats, four tents and plenty more besides.

Today, they are packing the haul into their Renault Clio and driving to Calais to deliver the items personally.

Mr Bailey, originally from Leicestershire, said: “We set up a Facebook page on Thursday thinking we would get a few clothes and some shoes, but it’s just exploded.

“People have been so generous. The majority are from Witney but we have had friends from further away ordering things from Amazon and Argos as well.

“We just want to say thank you to everyone who has helped.

“Now we just have to cram it all into our Renault Clio, it could be quite a squeeze.”

They will spend tomorrow handing out the basic comforts to the most needy people at the camp.

But they also hope to film some of the people they meet there, capturing the human stories behind the tragedy.

They then want to turn some of that footage into a positive message they can deliver to Mr Cameron, to combat negative press around the issue of immigration and refugees seeking asylum.

Mr Bailey said: “We want to get a positive reception with David Cameron, we want to send something to him which won’t be criticising but a message of hope.”

Mr Bailey works for the Christian charity Open Doors in Witney and Mrs Bailey is a teaching assistant at St Mary and St John Primary School in East Oxford.

Open Doors helps support Christians who are persecuted in their own countries around the world, and Mr Bailey said the idea for the Calais mission was sparked when he realised a lot of the people he was trying to help were from the same countries as those in Calais trying to get to the UK.

He added: “Our idea is to raise awareness and encourage people to give, and to talk to their MP, that’s why we’re going to talk to ours.”

The couple are hoping to return to Calais in October with a better idea of what things would be most helpful to people in the camps.

They also said they would be more than happy to take a refugee into their own home or support a refugee to live in the UK.

See crowdfunder.co.uk/crying-out-for-Calais.