A POEM from a teenage girl shows the huge public sympathy evoked by the plight of student hostage Paul Wells and his family.

Hannah Kershaw, 15, is the youngest of a number of people to write to the Middlesbrough offices of the Hostages In Kashmir Campaign from East Lancashire.

Her letter, written following the Big Story documentary about Paul and the three other Westereners being held in Kashmir, includes a poem entitled Free For Christmas.

It reads:

This Christmas there'll be sadness, for the Mangans and the Wells,

We'll hear the sound of tears instead of laughter and of bells.

Because far away in a different land, away from prying eyes,

Are militants and kidnappers filled with despise.

Taking innocent people, hurting their families and their wives,

Taking away their freedom, destroying their lives.

Their families relentless, determined, they won't quit their campaign,

They've promised themselves they won't surrender till they see their loved ones again. Hannah, a pupil of Pleckgate High School, Blackburn, said: "It was the Big Story programme which made me write the letter. I thought it was very moving.

"I am also interested because he is from Blackburn.

"I come from a close family who would be devastated if anything like this happened to them, but I was inspired by the determination of the Mangan and Wells families when they travelled to Kashmir."

A spokeswoman for the Hostages In Kashmir Campaign said they were touched by the letter.

She added: "We have had a lot of interest from East Lancashire but Hannah is the youngest person to write to us."

Anyone wishing to contact the Hostages In Kashmir Campaign or make a donation CAN write to them at Independent House, 112 Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2ES, or telephone 01642 339090.

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