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AN ANNUAL family holiday to a Greek island has turned into a humanitarian effort by a Worcestershire couple helping Syrian refugees.

For the last 20 years, Patricia and John Horton, from Broadwas, have been travelling to Lesvos with sons Stephen and Thomas but there plans to return this year on their usual jaunt soon turned into a humanitarian effort.

The small island has become one of the main landing areas for refugee boats to land coming from Turkey and the couple said they were "painfully unprepared" for what they found.

Rather than relaxing on the beach and enjoying typical holiday activities, the pair and son Stephen have thrown themselves into aiding those who are escaping civil war in Syria.

Mr Horton, who flew out on September 19 and stay until Saturday, said: "It was expected to be a holiday that we have enjoyed for twenty years.

"During those years we have seen little change on the Greek island of Lesvos.

"The island has remained unspoilt by time and tourists and this year was expected to provide us with the same tranquil time we have enjoyed many times before.

"True, we were aware that Lesvos had been challenged by the presence of refugees using it as a stepping stone to Europe from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc, but what we found we were painfully unprepared for."

After landing at Mytilini Airport and travelling to the resort in Petra on the northern coast, the trio quickly became aware of the scale of the problem when large groups of refugees were walking the length of the island in the hopes of getting transport to the heart of Europe.

"These walking refugees consisted largely of young able-bodied men but that did not always show the old, the young, the babies and women that struggled to get to the capital by foot and a few by bus.

"Hardly a half mile passed without seeing another large group of exhausted people making the long and hard journey.

"We knew right away that what we thought we knew about the situation from the media, was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Our holiday plans were suddenly going to change as the scale of this human tragedy unfolded before our eyes. "Many had died and are still sadly losing their lives striving in desperation for a taste of freedom but those many who survive still have a long way to go and face many hurdles before they are safe."

He said they had arranged with Thomas Cook prior to the holiday, booked before the refugee crisis heightened, to take an extra ten kilos of baby clothing at no extra costs to be distributed among the refugees.

"We had to find out just what small contribution we could make to help the many volunteers who are devoting their time, money and effort in getting these poor people on their way.

"It was a small gesture [baby clothing] towards what now seems an enormous problem."

The have volunteered at the centre where most of the refugee arrivals were congregated in the village of Eftalou and then assisted by volunteer doctors and nurses from across the world.

Fine weather has aided the volunteers but with winter around the corner they fear they will see more refugees die at sea.

More clothing, blankets, shelter and fresh water will be essential and medical attention more likely as the months turn colder with groups back home, including Worcester Refugee Network, working hard to get supplies.

They said their experience has been at odds with what has been reported back home and they want to make people realise how desperate the situation is.

"The media are happy to give out an impression that these refugees are a marauding mob posing an extreme danger to tourists.

"Nothing could be further from the truth.

"They are overwhelmed with the success of their journey across land and sea to the gateway to Europe.

"They are overjoyed by the welcome they receive from the volunteers on Lesvos.

"The only time they approach anyone is in trying to get a lift for their onward journey and even that is rare and in no way threatening.

"This misconception must be rectified as it is totally wrong and damaging the refugees image and the economy of the island of Lesvos by unnecessarily deterring tourism.

"The fact that the island has been caught up in what's going on with the refugee crisis should not detract from the beauty and friendliness of this island.

"Most tourists have sympathy for the refugees and want to do something to help them and do not feel threatened, intimidated or feel that their holiday has been adversely affected by the presence of the refugees.

"Tourists are not simply important but vital to the Lesvos economy and future."

Mr Horton said it had "taken his breath away" to see mile after mile of deflated black rubber dinghies and discarded life jackets.

Talking about witnessing a dinghy coming to shore, he said: "Minute by minute it steered its way towards us and the waiting helpers.

"The occupants were clearly excited and overwhelmed by the sight of friendly people preparing to welcome them. "Some stood up and many shouted for joy.

"My wife, son and myself moved quickly towards them to help and in no time the refugees were jumping into the shallows of the sea and making their way ashore.

"Many women were sobbing in tears while many children looked on bewildered.

"As we moved in to help we gave them smiles, hugs and simply said welcome.

"It was enough to bring tears to their eyes and reduced us to tears too."

Worcester News will be running a live blog with updates from the couple before they return home to Broadwas on Saturday at worcesternews.co.uk.