A SELFLESS Bolton band got more than they bargained for when they visited the Calais 'jungle' camp to drop off warm clothing and aid to refugees.

Three members of alternative rock band Yiyan and their manager Mick Watson found a stowaway refugee in the boot of their car as they prepared to enter the Euro tunnel, when lead singer Alex Brierley realised that his passport was still in the boot.

The young man, known as Hussain, begged to be taken over the border so he could be reunited with family in Manchester after witnessing his father and brother being killed in Sudan.

He had turned 18 just before reaching the border meaning he is no longer classed as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child.

Mr Brierley and Mr Watson, along with bassist Martin Ramsden and drummer Sam Davies, were left distressed and upset by the "heartbreaking" experience.

The Bolton News:

Manager Mr Watson said: "It wasn't a scary experience — it was heartbreaking and quite distressing. We recognised him as being the same person we had spoken to on our first trip to the camp in November.

"He begged us to take him into the UK. It turns out he'd turned 18, an adult, just before he got to the border so he could not cross to be with his mother and siblings. He's there on his own and he's scared.

"He told us that his dad and brother had been butchered in front of him in Sudan. He said he had fled in the hope that he could see his mum and sister who live somewhere near Manchester. It was awful."

The band visited the camp for the second time on December 8 after collecting clothes and aid for the refuges ahead of the cold winter months.

Mr Watson said: "It was a life changing experience for me personally. The conditions there were pretty horrendous.

"Personally I think it's a disgrace that David Cameron can sit in his ivory tower shouting about scrapping the Human Rights Act when in the camp there are people walking around with no shoes on and hardly any food, being treated worse than dogs. It's unbelievable.

"Unless you have been there and felt the atmosphere you can't understand it. You can feel the desperation — it leaves a lasting impression on you.

"Who can sit there and say they would not do the same as Hussain if their dad and brother had been killed? It's easy for us to switch on the TV and have a glass of wine and not give a second thought to these people."

The band plan a third trip to the camp in January.