A HOLLYBUSH couple, who met in India and worked there for over 20 years, will travel to the sub-continent in June with clothes for children who have run away from home.

Jane and Ashley Butterfield, of Tump End, are hoping local people will help them collect as many clothes as possible for girls in particular, aged from three to 12.

The couple became aware of large numbers of children living rough near or on railway stations when organising railway tours in India for British tourists.

The couple help both boys and girls, but in 2001 they decided to set up a small charity called Butterfield's Edward Johnson Trust to support a home for 28 girls on the outskirts of Delhi.

The home and the charity help to save the young girls from a lifetime of menial and irregular work, such as collecting and selling recyclable rubbish close to railway tracks.

Mrs Butterfield, who met her husband when she was a tourist on a train tour he organised, said the charity is named in memory of 40-year-old Anglo-Indian man who had a very tough life.

Edward Johnson ran away from home as a 12-year-old, and experienced a life of menial work, travelling as a vagrant around railway stations with a disabled wife and two children to look after, before his death from cancer.

Mrs Butterfield said: "He used to do some work for us, such as washing pots. Naming the charity after him reminds us of the people we are trying to help.

"The children attend local schools, enjoy many extra-curricular activities and are sent for vocational training and higher education when they get older.

"Close contact is maintained with parents, wherever possible, as we hope that some of these girls will play a part in lifting their whole families out of poverty.

"As our resources are limited, we are trying to supply these girls with as many good used clothes as possible, freeing up funds for other necessities such as school books and uniforms."

Anyone wishing to help can call 01531 650029 or e-mail butterfieldashley@yahoo.co.uk