YOUNG refugees from Palestine enjoyed a taste of freedom as they visited Bolton.

A group of 11 schoolchildren left Askar Refugee Camp in the West Bank for a 10 day trip to the borough, where they have been staying with local families.

The holiday was arranged by Julia Simpkins, secretary of the Bolton-branch of the National Union of Teachers, following her visits to the country as part of a delegation.

Ms Simpkins said: “My first visit was in October 2016 and my initial thought was I wanted them to come and breathe fresh air because in the refugee camp the streets are very very narrow.

“There is no sunshine, there’s no wind so all of the tear gas in the camp does not disperse. We know for the kids of Chernobyl every month they spend in England it extends their life expectancy by a year, so at the moment no one knows the long term effect of breathing tear gas but it can’t be good.

“When we went to the Mission on Halliwell Road and the children there asked them what was the big difference between living in Palestine and living in England and one of the girls said when we go out in Nablus we don’t feel safe and here we feel safe.”

Children escaped their lives as refugees for a short time, visiting Manchester United Football Club, Blackpool, trips to the city and finding out about the rich heritage of Bolton. It cost just over £10,00 to bring over the children, with the money raised through union group and mosques.

Ms Simpkins is hoping the trip has built long lasting relationships and there are plans to link schools in Bolton to those in Nablus.

Ms Simpkins said: “It’s just been amazing, the children are absolutely wonderful. There have been so many things that have come out of it. The children were taken for a tennis lesson and the young guy there who taught them was saying he had wanted to do some volunteer work so he is now planning to go to Palestine to do some coaching. The children have been talking to people about their lives in Palestine.

“I also spoke to somebody at the university about the possibility of setting up a bursary for someone to come, because when you speak to these children they all say they want to be engineers, they want to be doctors and the possibility of them being able to complete their education in Palestine is very limited and they don’t have the money to be able to live abroad and complete their education.

Young people said that in the camp they sometimes are without electricity— and how people in Bolton are free to go everywhere without having to show their papers to soldiers.

Rahaf Hafi, aged 16, said: “It has been exciting and nice.”

Yumna Zriqe aged 15, aged 15, said: “This is first time we been out of Palestine and seen the sea.

“Our favourite was going to Manchester United and seeing the coast that was amazing. I hope it builds relationships.”