A DERBYSHIRE charity has sent £60,000 worth of aid to help millions of Syrian refugees who have fled the country.
Aquabox, run by the Wirksworth Rotary Club, has sent 500 boxes containing life-saving equipment to the troubled region.
Mike Tomlinson, chairman of the charity, said the refugee crisis is the biggest the charity has faced, in terms of the number of people that have been affected.
Mr Tomlinson said: "When I see the problems the refugees face I feel helpless. I feel this is a massive problem and it's such a desperate situation.
"We can only scratch the surface by sending 500 boxes and that's discouraging.
"But our boxes and aid will help them to protect some sort of life that they might still have."
According to the website syrianrefugees.eu, an estimated nine million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in March 2011.
They have escaped the violence by heading to neighbouring countries including Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
Keith Meikle-Janney, a trustee at Aquabox, said the plight of the refugees and the daily struggle they face has prompted the charity to take action.
The latest load of life-saving boxes was sent on Sunday. This is the fourth load of aid to be sent from Aquabox.
Mr Meikle-Janney, of Wirksworth, said: "We are very conscious of the huge number of refugees so we send aid as often as we can.
"It will take five weeks to get there because the agencies and customs will need to organise it. We do not send a load until we know it has been organised.
"There is a significant number of refugees who are leaving the country. There seems no end to the problem.
"We respond to natural or man-made crises."
Each plastic Aquabox contains a water purification system that can clean nearly 20,000 litres of water to make it suitable for drinking.
The boxes also contain other essential items, such as cooking equipment, baby clothing and blankets, buckets, health and hygiene equipment and tools.
The aid is sent from the UK to the port of Mersin in southern Turkey and then moved down to the Syrian border and to the waiting refugees.
Mr Meikle-Janney said: "It's an extremely disturbing situation with millions of people involved. All we can do is offer humanitarian aid."
