A Carlisle refugee group joined the International Day of Action on Saturday, raising awareness of the current humanitarian crisis taking place on the border between Poland and Belarus.

The Carlisle Refugee Action Group (CRAG), were amongst many groups throughout the UK who took part in the international protest, each group unified by the message of 'Stop Refugees Freezing'.

It is estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 people - including those fleeing war and conflict zones - have been trapped by diplomatic status between the two countries and are being subjected to inhumane conditions in sub-zero temperatures.

The situation has registered the deaths of at least 10 people.

Adrienne Gill, one of CRAG's founding members, said the refugees have been "left in limbo" on the EU border.

"Our goal was to join and help raise awareness about a situation that is currently being pushed out of the headlines right now, as there's a lot going on in the world," she said.

CRAG will look to turn their focus towards Priti Patel's Nationality and Borders Bill over the coming weeks.

The group will be working with other community groups, refugees and their families to campaign against it.

The bill is currently passing through the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

"We want people to know refugees are welcome, let's give them a chance to come here, apply for asylum and state their case.

"A lot of people don't realise how inhumane the Borders Bill actually is, it's against a lot of human rights laws and hopefully it can be defeated on those grounds," she said.

CRAG was set up in 2015 following the Calais migrant crisis.

Ms Gill said Carlisle has a "great track record" of welcoming refugee families over the past five years.

The organisation will be helping launch the Women's PANAH project alongside Multi-Cultural Cumbria and Pride in North Cumbria.

The event will be led by a refugee woman and will include coffee mornings, group walks, swimming, yoga sessions and "other wellness activities".

The sessions are there to provide a programme of activities for refugee asylum seeking women, helping to empower them and support their general wellbeing. 

"As we look ahead, we're still slowly coming out the pandemic but we're looking forward to offering more face-to-face support to our families here in Carlisle," she said. 

For more information on these sessions, email womenspanah@gmail.com.