Charity praises people who donated warm clothes for asylum seekers at Peterborough's Dragonfly Hotel

A charity in Peterborough has praised people who responded to a plea for warm clothing for asylum seekers placed at the city’s Dragonfly Hotel.

The appeal was made by the HELP (Helping Empower Lives in Peterborough) charity, based in Broadway, for coats, shoes, underwear, socks, scarves, hats and gloves for men who have been moved into the Dragonfly Hotel, in Thorpe Meadows.

About 146 male asylum seekers have been moved into the 70-bedroom hotel by the Home Office.

But the charity says the men have arrived in the UK wearing flip flops and desperately in need of warm clothing.

Beckie MacLellan, co-director and outreach manager, said: “We’ve had a very good response to our appeal. Thank you to everyone who responded and brought donations to us.

"The donations are very welcome

"They are essential to helping keep people warm during these very cold days and nights.”

The HELP charity says its role is to help everyone

Miss MacLellan said: “We cater for everybody of any nationality who may be homeless or with mental health concerns – we never turn anyone away.

She said: “At this time of year demand for our services goes up.

"with the freezing temperatures we’ve homeless people coming in asking for sleeping bags, We look to give them a warm coat and sleeping bag,

“We would welcome more donations please of clean and in good condition sleeping bags, warm coats, gloves, hats, scarves and shoes.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We remain committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and continue to identify a range of accommodation options."