Aid effort from UK to Serbia

The Batley-based One Nation charity organised the convoy of 60 vans and a truck which took clothes, food, medication and other items to families temporarily camped out in the continent.

Members of the Al Mubarak Foundation and Rabetah Al-Ulama scholars organisation joined the charity after thousands of local donations.

The convoy set off from the Pakistan and Kashmir Welfare Association centre off Manor Way in Batley last Thursday, and returned on Monday morning.

They took the ferry from Dover, stopping briefly in Calais to drop off donations, before heading to Austria.

From there, volunteers spread out to Dortmund in Germany, Croatia and Serbia.

Al Mubarak said: “In Germany there were some amazing people of all faiths spending their days, afternoons, evenings and nights to make sure people are coming to help the refugees out.”

He said that the families, many currently homed in sports centres, were happy to see people from the UK travelling to help them.

“We gave a family something and they said, ‘We don’t need this, give it to somebody else’. That just proves that once they have enough, they don’t want more. That was a bit touching.

“The community of Batley came together and made all this possible. Thousands and thousands of people have donated.”