REFUGEES can expect a warm welcome to the village of Eynsham, as residents are raising thousands of pounds to ensure families feel as much at home as possible.

Refugees Welcome in Eynsham are raising cash to furnish an empty room in the village for immigrants to move into.

Nick Lewis, part of the group , first had the idea to fundraise when he heard refugee families would be moving into West Oxfordshire.

He and other members of the group are attempting to raise £2,000 as part of charity Asylum Welcome's Adopt a Room project.

Mr Lewis, a former disability journalist, said: "I'm disabled, and a wheelchair user, and when I came to Eynsham I was given such a warm welcome.

"The people here are really compassionate.

"And refugees need that even more, they have been in so much worse situations than we have ever been."

The group are raising money to furnish a room in a house which they refugees will move into, so they can have necessary home comforts such as a sofa, table and chair.

Members are also looking to raise enough cash to put a deposit down on a property in the village, where another refugee family can live.

Mr Lewis added: "So far we have £500 but we really want £2,000 by the end of the month.

"I'm going to do some English teaching too, to the families who want it."

Refugees Welcome in Eynsham (RWE) is a group which was formed at a Refugees Welcome rally in Oxford in September.

Mr Lewis said: "We found, in contrast to the media, a generously compassionate attitude amongst many in our village towards people who had been forced by conflict to flee their Middle Eastern homes.

"We are sure that we can find space for them even in well populated Oxfordshire."

Visit crowdfunding.justgiving.com/rnb-lewis to donate to the scheme by the end of June.