A doctor who spent 11 days saving the lives of refugees on the beaches of Greece earlier this year has received an award.

Dr. Cristina Lopez-Peig, of the Woodberry Practice in Palmers Green, worked at the Moira camp in Lesbos in January, having travelled at her own expense.

She was given a ‘Champions Award’ by Refugee Welcome Enfield, a newly formed pressure group to get the public and the council to help welcome and house refugees in the borough.

Dr. Lopez-Peig took clothes, blankets and tents donated by patients, along with medical supplies donated by Atkinson Chemist in Winchmore Hill, and volunteered in a 24 hour clinic in the refugee camp, offering medical assistance to refugee families.

Despite the suffering she witnessed, Dr Lopez said she is very positive about what can be achieved by volunteers to solve the crisis.

She said: “It was shocking, I could not believe the number of people arriving, usually in tiny boats in the middle of the night.

“It’s madness, and you can’t believe it when you come back home and it is so comfortable.

“I paid for all the fares and accommodation, but so many people also chipped in. They helped pay for the luggage, as we had to take so much stuff.

“We flew with Ryanair and we were quite a few kilos over the maximum baggage weight. Fortunately they did not charge us.  When you do something like this it all does seem to go well, as everyone wants to help.”

Dr Lopez-Peig went back to Greece on a family holiday last half term with her nine-year-old daughter, and they visited the camp for a day so she could experience what it was like.

Dr Lopez-Peig said: “She was fine, the kids all started playing together. They are children, they can communicate without language.

“The experience was very good and very bad. I met some brilliant people, but so many people were also scared and traumatised. The boats had so many people in them they were sinking.

“Now I am back, I will do anything I can to help here. The majority of people want to do something, but they don’t know what.”