A LITERATURE festival has raised money to help refugee families settle into Darlington.

Darlington Assistance for Refugees (DAR) was established in a bid to support Syrian refugees seeking shelter in the town.

The town’s Friends Meeting House hosted the Lit and Latte festival on Bank Holiday Monday to raise funds for the organisation.

The busy event saw spoken word performers and authors including Sandra Spears, Alex Lockwood, Tony Harrison and Carol Dean share their work.

Children’s author Ms Dean read her books to the festival’s youngest visitors.

She said: “I really wanted to support this event as reading is so important to people of all ages.”

Event organiser Robyn Drummond said a diverse crowd had helped to make the event a success.

She added: “It’s been great and it’s raised money for DAR, a cause I think is really important.

“We need to support them in supporting the families coming to Darlington – we really need them to feel part of our community.”

Fran Wood, from DAR, said: “It’s important that people in Darlington have the opportunity to support refugees at events like this.

“In time, the families will be part of the community and we are looking forward to warmly welcoming them to the town.”