TWO volunteers from Malmesbury who travelled to help refugees stranded in ‘The Jungle’ in Calais have spoken about their experiences.

Esther Hamill, 46, has been making regular trips to France over the past six months and took her friend and local teacher Lisa Tweedie, 48, on a recent trip to experience the conditions of the camp herself.

While out there the camp was reduced in size by the French authorities and a landmark case involving a British man who smuggled an Afghan child from Calais into the UK was heard.

New to The Jungle, Lisa Tweedie ventured out with her dog Bailey, a four-year-old lurcher.

“There are some awful stories there,” she said. “Some people have had a really tough time.

“It’s cold and they’re basically living in sheds. It’s quite of shocking to be honest.”

Esther, who has by her own admission been out to Calais more times than she can remember, fears the situation is at a critical point.

“People are beginning to lose hope,” she said. “There are various infections going round the camp now.

“Recently the boundaries of the camp were reduced, and authorities tore down the church and mosque, despite saying this wouldn’t happen. People are devastated.

“Local police are so violent in Calais, there are some unprovoked attacks on the camp, includes attacks on children. This, in a continent where they were expecting to be safe.

“Volunteers are afraid to walk into town by themselves; they have been attacked by right wing extremists.”

There is much debate currently around how many people in The Jungle are refugees and how many are economic migrants.

On the matter Esther said: “I haven’t met anyone who would consider themselves economic migrants.

“I have met a lot who have fled from ISIS. They fled out of fear for their lives.

“It’s amazing to experience how lovely they are despite what they’ve been through.”

The trial of former solider Rob Lawrie was made prominent by international media coverage, with the case being treated as a precedent setting occasion.

The 49-year-old from Leeds was charged with smuggling a child into the UK from the camp, and Esther and Lisa were at the hearing to determine Mr Lawrie’s fate.

“There court room was packed full of all ages of French people who had come out to support him,” said Lisa.

“They let us sit on floor, and a woman translated for me.

“People thought it was case of heart or head.

“I was really impressed with French legal system; the judges were very fair and they questioned him sensitively.

“It was quite amazing to be honest, like in To Kill A Mockingbird; that level of drama.”

Esther, who became friends with Mr Lawrie during his first trip to The Jungle, said: “He is a lovely man. He’s always very busy and built masses of shelters out there.”

Lisa’s parting thought on the trip was focussed on the children in the camp. She said: “Let’s get the children out of there, as a minimum. We can’t have children living in those conditions.

“The thought of those children doing the journey into the UK, jumping onto trains is horrendous.

“The situation is complex, but to take the children across is not complex.”

Mr Lawrie only had to pay a €1,000 fine for his charge, which will be completely waived if he has no further offences in the next five years, and the child he tried to bring to England is back living in Calais.

Esther, who will be back out in The Jungle regularly over the next few months, said: “I can’t see what needs to happened happening.

“We have to provide safety and refuge to the people held up in Calais. It’s a relatively small number compared to what other countries have taken in. People are in desperate need of our help.”