AN East Lancashire footwear and clothing firm is sending thousands of jackets, clothes and shoes out to the Balkans for the droves of ethnic Albanians who have been forced to flee their homes in war-torn Kosovo.

Dale Winfield, boss of Winfields in Haslingden, has been so touched by the plight of the refugees who have fled to Albania and Macedonia that as soon as he got a call for help from the charity International Aid he sent his staff on a mercy mission.

Dozens of staff stayed behind after work to pack boxes full of clothes which are desperately needed by the homeless refugees who are packed into border camps.

Dale said: "These people need help sooner rather than later, and we needed to get everything packed up quickly so a lot of staff stayed behind to get the job done.

"As soon as we have boxed all the clothes they can be handed over to International Aid who will take them to the people who so desperately need them."

Almost half the space in International Aid's wagon will be taken up with 11,000 items of clothing and thousands of pairs of shoes from Winfields.

The lorry will travel from Italy to Albania's capital Tirana from where the clothes will be distributed to refugees in the border camps.

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