Calais migrants receive a helping hand from Hatton bin cleaner - The Stratford Observer

Calais migrants receive a helping hand from Hatton bin cleaner

Stratford Editorial 20th Aug, 2015 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

MIGRANTS may be referred to as a ‘swarm’ by Prime Minister David Cameron but a Hatton resident has been so moved by their plight he is planning to drive to Calais to help them.

Ben Stevens was shocked to see recent images of migrants living in dilapidated camps near the French port and decided he had to help.

Since then he has been collecting unwanted items to take to the camps, which consist of around 4,000 asylum seekers and refugees from war-torn countries who are trying to make their way to Britain.

Ben – who owns wheelie bin cleaning company Leam Bins – plans to take the supplies to Calais himself at the end of his month, making the 200 mile trip in his own company van.




He said: “These people, disposed from their homes, are experiencing appalling levels of suffering and we can all help in our own very simple ways.

“A lot of the poor men, women and children are fleeing war, violence and oppression. They aren’t seeking handouts, just safety. I want people to help me do something to make their lives bearable.”


Ben, who lives on Hatton Park, is urging people to donate clean clothes, tents, shoes, blankets, sleeping bags, torches and small toys to help his cause.

And he is also calling for donations to help buy items including first aid kits, nappies, sanitary products and baby wipes.

He said: “Money raised will go towards buying new essential items for the people currently suffering in camps in Calais.

“These will be transported along with the other items and distributed with the help of local charities to ensure the most in need receive them. Even a pound can make a difference.”

The migrants, who have made their way to Calais from across the world, including war-torn Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan. They are living in the camps while they attempt to enter Britain illegally on trains, lorries, ferries and cars travelling through the Eurotunnel.

A recent push saw some 2,000 migrants attempt to storm the tunnel in a single night. But Eurotunnel say this figure has fallen to around 150 after extra security measures were put in place.

Vist www.gofundme.com/leamingtonspaaid or call Ben on 0800 193 6970 for further details.

* TWO suspected illegal immigrants picked-up by police in Napton have been handed over to Border Control.

The pair, believed to be Chinese or Vietnamese, were arrested on Tuesday August 11 around 8pm.

It is understood they stowed away on a boat which had been towed back from Calais.

Five men are believed to have got off, and were spotted by an eye-witness who saw them walking towards the village.

Two were seen in a local shop – although it is not know if they were the two arrested.

There have been no further reports of the whereabouts of the possible three others thought to have stowed away on the boat.

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