THREE friends from Peebles are hoping to ease the suffering of refugees camped around Calais - with a horsebox.

Thousands of men, women and children are currently living in squalid conditions at the French port after fleeing war-torn African and Middle Eastern states.

While politicians continue to argue about their future and security is tightened to prevent them reaching the shores of Britain, conditions in the makeshift camps are worsening.

And with winter approaching fears are growing for the welfare of the migrant families.

Several humanitarian groups have recently sprung up around Kent to take aid to the camps on the other side of the Channel.

Kent-based Worldwide Tribe, who are supporting the refugees with aid, have raised more than £40,000 in a fortnight.

And they are making regular trips to France to drop off donated clothing, blankets and hygiene products.

In Peebles local businesswomen Joy Espie and Sara Maciver along with their nurse friend Tracey Owens have established their own humanitarian mission.

Sara told us: “The despair and the situation that these people have found themselves in has touched us all.

“We were just talking about ways we could help when we decided to do something ourselves.

“People in the South of England had already taken it upon themselves to travel across the Channel and offer assistance. Being so far from Dover was the stumbling point - then we came up with the idea of taking the horsebox down with whatever we could collect in Peebles.” The ladies launched a crowdfunding page this week to pay for the costs of taking the 6.5-tonne horsebox down to Kent. And they made a local appeal through social media for clothing, tents, sleeping bags, shoes, hygiene products and winter jackets.

Bags of donations have already started rolling in and they are starting to close in on their crowdfunding target to pay for the required diesel.

Sara added: “It is going to be a cold winter for these people and they need our help - it is a frightening situation for them.

“Time isn’t on our side so we hope to be able to go down with the full horsebox within the next two or three weeks. It is a big horsebox and will take a lot of filling.” Sara and her husband, Thorfinn, will take their horsebox to Kent later this month to drop off all donations.

Items can be handed into the Daft Dug beauty salon on Peebles High Street during business hours.

To support the costs of delivering the items go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/it-takes-a-village-peebles