A YORK woman who has travelled to Calais to help refugees surviving in the camps is one of hundreds of activists hoping for a win in a legal fight to help child refugees.

Jane Austin, who spent part of September 2016 teaching language skills in the Jungle migrant camp, is backing a fight by charity Help Refugees to force the government to accept more children under the Dubs Amendment.

York Press:

The Dubs scheme launched in 2016, agreeing the British government would accept unaccompanied child refugees - but it was closed in February and it is thought only around 480 children will be brought to Britain, many fewer than expected.

Now organisation Help Refugees is waiting for a legal judgement that it hopes could force the Government to reopen the scheme. It has argued that, among other things, the Government did not properly talk to local councils about how many children they could rehome.

Jane said: “Last autumn I spent a week at the Calais Refugee Camp, with my daughter, working for the charity, Help Refugees. It was a moment of acute anxiety, as the French authorities announced the closure of the camp.In the few days spent at the camp, I was struck by the scale of the crisis; I was also moved by the energy, resourcefulness and hope among the young people we met.

“The children eligible to come to the UK are not numbers, they are young people acutely in need of our compassion. Our ability to respond, as with other crises we face, is a measure of our humanity. I hope our government is equal to the challenge.”

According to figures from the York City of Sanctuary organisation, the number of unaccompanied child refugees settled in homes in York is in single figures, while about 40 other Syrian refugees have been found homes in the city. The city council promised to accept 60 Syrian refugees, a target the activists expect to be met ahead of the 2020 deadline. In North Yorkshire County Council’s area, 17 unaccompanied child refugees are either at a welcome centre, with foster families, or are living semi-independently. About another 180 refugees will have been accepted by the county council by July, a spokesman confirmed.