A group of parents are taking action after seeing the plight of refugees living on the Turkish-Syrian border.

They are preparing to go on a journey through Europe to the boarder as part of a 100 ambulance convoy to drop off supplies for the humanitarian effort.

They are going with charity Al Fatiha Global after seeing a documentary about the dire situation refugees are facing over the winter.

Rizwan Shamin, group leader and paramedic, said: “At this time of year everyone longs to be with their family in comfort, but everyone in our group is prepared to sacrifice a small amount of their time to hopefully to bring some joy to the Syrian children and families.”

They have filled up vans with items donated by the Muslim community and their last collection was on Friday. The convoy is due to set off on Friday.

Ghazanfar Ali, chairman of the Ilford Islamic Centre, Albert Road, Ilford, said: “As a Muslim community, we always seek to help where we can, and the plight of the Syrian people who are made up of a number of diverse faiths is something which is close to all of our hearts – we wish the group all the best on their journey.”