People from across Nottinghamshire are coming together to donate spare blankets, clothing and vital aid at a collection to help refugees in Calais.
Owners at The White Lion pub in Beeston, are just one in a handful of local businesses and groups who are opening drop off centres where the public can donate items.
Sergio Rocha, who owns the pub opened up his beer cellar last Thursday, and has been surprised at the amount of support they received.
He said: “It’s amazing, one word I can say is ‘wow’, I wasn’t expecting people to react on that scale – it’s beautiful to see people caring about others.”
Picture: Donations from locals have filled the cellar of The White Lion Pub, Beeston.
The 36-year-old will be travelling to Calais in November and plans on taking fresh food to cook hot meals for refugees camping there.
He’s currently raised over £1,000 but still needs more funds to ensure they can transport all the donated items, as well as buy fresh food for meals.
Sergio told Notts TV that the response across Nottinghamshire, including attendance at this weeks vigil in Old Market Square, has been outstanding.
He said: “Everything started as a few boxes on the Thursday, which became overwhelming – that is the third time the cellar has been [full] like that, it’s overwhelming seeing the generosity of people.”
Other collection points in West Bridgford and Hyson Green have now stopped taking donations because of a lack of storage space.
You can donate to the ‘Fresh food for Calais’ project here.
