In the space of a year, a mother’s charity has grown from her son’s bedroom to seven storage units in Rickmansworth and St Albans.

After seeing three-year-old Alan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey, Siobhan Burleigh decided she wanted to help refugees.

A Facebook post led to a flood of donations that forced her six-year-old son out of his bedroom. And what started as a solo trip to the Calais Jungle in October last year, turned into a group of 19 visiting in 15 vehicles.

The 33-year-old set up the charity, Herts for Refugees, a year ago and now some of the group are returning to the camp.

They will be visiting on October 22, a week before it is demolished and 10,000 refugees - including 1,000 children - are left without a home.

She said: “When I started the charity I didn’t imagine it would grow as big as it has. Since our trip to Calais last year, the charity has been growing and growing.

“I was overwhelmed by the amount of support and donations we received last year, and now we have more than 700 members and two other trustees.

"I’m looking forward to the trip, but I’m also apprehensive. Tensions will be high with it being so close to the demolition date."

Alongside the charity, Miss Burleigh also has a full-time job, is studying for her masters and looks after her six-year-old son.

She said she continues to do the work after seeing the conditions people live in when she visited last year.

She said: “These people are already living in a dump and now they’re going to take that away from them too. When does this end?

“When you’re there you see the children running around and they’re so happy; they don’t realise what is going on around them.

"Everyone I met there was so lovely. If I was living in the conditions they were living in I certainly wouldn’t be that happy.

"The shock when you go there for the first time – I thought I was ready for it, I’d seen pictures and footage on TV, but when I arrived, I was like, wow.

“It really makes you appreciate what you have.”

The trips to the camp are self-funded and all donations go to projects that help refugees in Calais and Dunkirk.

In the space of a year the charity has raised more than £10,000. It purchased a caravan for people to travel to the camp in and also built a roof for the camp in Dunkirk.

They are also hoping to purchase 1,000 smartphones for the children living there. Last time there was a demolition, around 120 children went missing.

Miss Burleigh said: “We don’t want this to happen again. Nobody cared that these children were missing, they weren’t accounted for.

“We want to make sure all the children are safe and contactable when they demolish the camp at the end of the month.”

The project manager said her and the other trustees, Sally and James Robinson, are hoping to get another storage unit in Watford. 

To donate to the charity please visit http://www.hertsforrefugees.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/hertsforrefugees/.