ARIF and Farmida Ahmed did not mind making room in their house for aid parcels donated by their neighbours for the relief effort in earthquake-torn Kashmir.

But the boxes kept coming and coming, to the point where they had 400 cartons of clothes, hundreds of quilts, blankets, 350 small tents and medical equipment.

As the contributions poured in, taking up the living room, spreading into the hallway, kitchen and then up the stairs into the three bedrooms, the Ahmeds and daughters Esha and Alia decided it was time to move out.

They have moved in with Mr Ahmed's parents, who live a couple of doors away from their Middlesbrough home, while eight tons of aid occupy their house.

Mr Ahmed's father, Nazir, said the family's situation was not a problem when so many people have died and been made homeless.

The 49-year-old taxi driver said: "The situation over there is very bad, so moving the family out here is nothing. I am not surprised by the response from the community, but overwhelmed, as we all are, by the quantity.''

He is flying to the disaster area with the aid through People's Charity Aid, joining an advance party from Teesside out there, including Dr Mohammed Shafiq.

More than 53,000 people died in the October 8 earthquake. More than 75,000 are known to have been injured seriously, and three million people must be sheltered before winter sets in.

Nazir Ahmed's friend and colleague, Sultan Alam, has been trying every day for a week to get Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to fly the Teesside donations out, but there is a backlog with 80 tons of aid waiting for collection in one Heathrow warehouse.

He is upset that Pakistan's national airline has not done more. He said the airline was giving more priority to passengers' luggage than to urgently needed aid.

He said: "This aid should not be sitting here, but needs to be where it is needed.

"PIA do not seem to be prioritising the relief aid which is needed over there. Instead of aid sitting waiting to go out, this aid should be being distributed.''

l The charity workers received confirmation yesterday that PIA will fly the aid out next week. No one at the airline was available for comment last night.