Abandoned Leeds festival tents for Calais migrant camps

Festival-goers abandon vast amounts of camping equipment each year

Camping equipment abandoned by thousands of Leeds festival-goers has been collected to be taken to migrant camps in Calais.

The festival, at Bramham Park, near Leeds, attracts around 80,000 people over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Attendees often abandon sleeping bags and tents rather than carry them home.

Leeds No Borders, which campaigns on immigration issues, is one of a number of organisations which collects items left behind.

Emily Jennings, from Leeds No Borders, said volunteers had been shocked by the amount and quality of what had been abandoned.

The collected equipment will be cleaned before being taken to Calais

"If we can share just a little with people who have nothing then that is at least one way forward."

Miss Jennings said the equipment they had collected would be sorted and cleaned before being taken to Calais.

'Big difference'

Maya Conforti, from L'Auberge Des Migrants in Calais, says the salvaged kit will make a "big difference" at migrant camps.

She said: "There's been torrential rain in the last week which created huge flooding in the Jungle [the nickname of a camp in Calais], the place where the people survive, so we had to distribute tonnes of tents and sleeping bags."

"Conditions are way below international refugee camp standards, there are not enough toilets, the water points are dirty and there's no drainage.

"It's quite awful and there are about 3,500 people who live there. It's a European issue, an international issue."