Thousands Of Britons Demand UK Helps Refugees

Tens of thousands of Britons are demanding the Government does more to help the victims of Europe's migration crisis.

A petition urging the UK to accept more asylum seekers has passed the 100,000 signatures needed to be considered for debate by MPs.

Meanwhile, charities say they are getting "unprecedented" offers of help - while ordinary Britons are offering spare rooms or mobilising grassroots movements to bring supplies directly to where they are needed.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is supporting refugees from Syria and elsewhere, says it has had a big spike in donations.

A spokeswoman said: "I've worked for the UNHCR for more than seven years and, to be honest, this is the most generous response I've seen in terms of the way it has touched people and their willingness to offer help on a very personal level.

"We are receiving calls and emails and people contacting us over Twitter in the UK to ask how they can help.

"We have had pensioners in Dorset and in Tunbridge Wells saying that they have a spare room they could offer to Syrian refugees, and that they feel quite strongly that messages we are hearing from politicians don't chime with their sense of needing to offer a welcome and a safe place for those people they are seeing in the news fleeing the war."

British people in continental Europe have also been helping - Louis Harkell, 29, a business journalist from London who is currently living in Germany has been providing water, bread and nappies to families arriving through Hungary.

Much of the frustration of those wanting the UK to do more is being focused on David Cameron.

Hours before harrowing pictures of Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi lying dead on a Turkish stunned the world , the Prime Minister indicated that he did not believe Britain should take in more refugees.

Mr Cameron later said he was "deeply moved by the sight of that young boy on a beach in Turkey" and added: "Britain is a moral nation and we will fulfil our moral responsibilities."

But he stopped short of providing details of any new measures, saying: "There's not a solution to this problem that is simply about taking people."

Around 140,000 tweets with the hashtag #refugeeswelcome were posted from midnight until mid-afternoon on Thursday - with hundreds of those aimed specifically at the Prime Minister.

Cammy Douglas tweeted: "@David_Cameron it's your fault that children are suffering in Syria. We should let more REFUGEES in and stop referring to migrants."

But Mr Cameron had some supporters telling him to minimise the UK's exposure to the biggest mass movement of people across Europe since World War Two.

One, Susan Stanwix, said: "No sorry he is being realistic for a change. We cannot give the whole world refuge."

:: Other charities offering support for refugees include: Save the Children, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, Red Cross Europe, Refugee Action and International Rescue Committee.