A WEST Devon teenager is petitioning for a disused building in Princetown to be used as a centre for Syrian refugees.

Compassionate Ezra Rickman, 15, has collected hundreds of signatures which he plans to present to the owners of the former arts centre and West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox.

After seeing the plight of the struggling refugees at Calais, Ezra , who lives in Princetown, was eager to do something to help the situation.

Together with a few of his friends he started the petition which he hopes will be supported by many more people.

Ezra said: ‘When I saw about the refugee crisis on the news it made me feel quite upset. There were loads of people who had made it to Calais and then they got stuck there in the camps that are like shanty towns. As one of the more developed countries in Europe we should be taking more responsibility to help.’

Ezra said he applied to have a meeting with West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox, originally to ask him to organise the petition, but then he decided to put forward the petition himself. He will be meeting with Mr Cox to talk about raising awareness of the issue in November.

‘The petition is to see if we can get the disused arts centre in Princetown to be used as a refugee centre. We’re hoping people will support us. We have about 450 signatures so far.

‘We don’t need a set amount of signatures but once we’ve passed 1,000 we can send it off. First we will send it off to the Duchy, which owns the building, and then we will use it to apply for a government grant.’

Ezra said he hoped they could send the petition off by January.

His mother Candy said she was proud he was showing compassion for those less fortunate. She said: ‘Ezra was really horrified by the pictures on the news of the refugee crisis. He’s the youngest of a big family. He’s got lots of nephews and nieces — some the same age as the little Syrian boy who was washed up on the beach.

‘It’s good that despite everything and the recession, he realises that we’re actually quite rich compared to others, especially those fleeing war-torn countries.’

Mrs Rickman said Ezra always reads a lot, thinks a lot and takes a keen interest in current affairs. She said he had been going out and about in the village, around school and had a stall at The Wharf in Tavistock during a performance on Sunday evening to get signatures for the petition.

She said if he did manage to get the use of the building, he would like to get a group of people together to help organise it to be used as a refugee centre.

‘Realistically, I’m not sure Duchy will agree to the use of the building,’ she said. ‘If that happens then he will do lots of fundraising so that he can still help in some way.

‘I’m really proud of him. He’s only 15 and I think it’s great that he is able to think about other people.’

West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox said it was ‘refreshing’ to see younger people taking an interest in the crisis. He said: ‘The Government is committed to being at the forefront of the international response and has pledged to resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.

‘A number of constituents have contacted me offering their help, ideas and support and it is particularly refreshing to see the younger members of the community keen to do their bit as well. With this in mind, I look forward to meeting Ezra in November to find out more about his ideas.’