A LEOMINSTER grandmother who was rescued from Nazi Germany as a nine-year-old has asked people to remember what it is to be 'human'.

Maja Storey, 86, was given a home, security and education in England after Quakers helped her to get out of Stettin, which is now part of Poland, before war broke out in Europe.

Her mother was born into a Jewish family but converted to Christianity when she was 14. Mrs Storey's father and brother were also Christians.

As a refugee herself, Mrs Storey has labelled Prime Minister David Cameron's description of migrants in Calais as a “swarm of people” as 'ignorant'.

She has now called for people to remember their humanity as thousands, most fleeing violent conflict in the Middle East and north and east Africa, attempt to claim asylum in Europe.

She said: "Herefordshire is a county with a tradition of helping, constant fundraising and working for charities concerned with local and international distress. So now it is horrifying to witness the whipped up storm in the national press, a storm of fear and hatred for refugees from the war and famine areas of the world. As a supposedly Christian country are we no longer our 'brother's keeper'.

"As part of Europe, and we still are both politically and geographically, should we not take our agreed share and help alleviate the burden on much poorer counties?"

Leaving her home and her family aged just nine, Mrs Storey travelled alone by train and then by boat from Hamburg to London in 1938.

"I was told not to tell anybody where I was going. I was terrified all the way," she said.

"Even then there was an outcry of 'don't let in too many'. It's the fear of a stranger."

Mrs Storey said that the west has contributed to the global warming which has robbed those living in Africa of their rainfall. They are left 'starving', she said.

During the first week in the South-East English village where she lived throughout the war years, she was taken to a village fete in aid of Basque refugees from the Spanish Civil War.

"That was Britain in 1938," she said.

"I love my country and like many starting out as refugees have never forgotten what I owe and tried to pay back. I have taught exclusively in London's inner city deprived areas with a constant throughput of immigrant children fleeing form the world's wars and famines.

"Believe me, any refugees we help now will also repay this country many times over."