THE founder of the charity GUK, which works with the poor in Bangladesh, has come to the UK to meet British flood victims.

Of the 160 million people in the country, four-fifths live on less than £1.30 a day. It is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Christian Aid is working with GUK to bring relief and to help communities adapt to climate change.

GUK founder Abdus Salam is visiting the north of England to meet people affected by the floods in Yorkshire, Durham, and Newcastle.

“Bangladesh is one of the most climate-change-affected countries in the world,” Mr Salam said. “People are facing different disasters because of climate change. In the northern part of Bangladesh, people are living with floods every year.

“Twenty years back, we did not have many floods; but the frequency of floods has increased, and, when they come, people living in the river-basin areas are losing everything: their homes and their livelihoods and their land.”

About 2.5 million people live in affected areas in the north, he said. “There is very little industry in the north — people depend on agriculture, and their wheat or paddy fields, and when the floods come, they lose everything.

“Around five million people are affected by the floods in the north. Most are extremely poor, and they need help with climate change adaptation.

“I’m hoping the work we do will particularly resonate with families here who have been hit by floods themselves.”