As a reporter, Alex Renton covered wars in Africa and the Middle East, but nothing could prepare him for the scenes he was to witness in Pakistan.

Speaking from Islamabad Alex, 40, said: "We are facing the biggest humanitarian effort ever. There is a very real possibility of one million refugees entering Pakistan.

"Meanwhile a civil war and a war between Islam and the Christian world looks increasingly likely. You could say it's pretty big."

Alex, a former pupil of Brighton College, grew up near Lewes where his father, now Lord Tim Renton, formerly served as Mid Sussex MP.

He was working as chief features writer on the Evening Standard in London when he decided to pursue a new career and took up a post with Oxfam as its media officer in Asia.

After the terrorist attacks in the US two weeks ago, he was asked to take up the challenging role of co-ordinating Oxfam's media message in Pakistan.

His job is to publicise Oxfam's concerns that millions of innocent people in Afghanistan may bear the brunt of any military attempts by the US and its allies to root out terrorist suspect Osama Bin Laden.

Bin Laden is being harboured by the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Alex spends his day organising press conferences and conducting interviews with organisations ranging from Syrian TV to BBC local radio.

He said the number one priority for most Afghans was the threat of famine rather than military attacks. With winter just a few weeks away, the country is facing severe food shortages putting five million people at risk.

The crisis has been caused by a combination of three years of drought and the continuing war between the Taliban and the opposition Northern Alliance.

Alex said: "The people of Afghanistan are experiencing acute suffering already. They did not vote for the Taliban or ask that Osama Bin Laden be harboured in their country.

"Famine is imminent. Normally at this time of the year we would be shipping huge amounts of food into Afghanistan. But people are aware this is not happening and are taking to the road. These people are very frightened."

Last week Oxfam delivered 1,500 tonnes of food aid to Afghanistan and is preparing to provide water and sanitation for up to 500,000 refugees massing on the country's border with Pakistan.

Alex, whose girlfriend Ruth and two-year-old son Adam have stayed behind in Bangkok, said he never doubted his decision to take the job with Oxfam even though it meant a big pay cut and having to move his family to Asia.

He said: "I had a mid-life crisis. I've been reporting wars as a journalist for the past five years. I could write passionate stories about terrible things happening in the world but I never felt I was making a real difference.

"It's odd being on the other side of the fence now, but it's also better. It's satisfying to be a part of something so important and helping to make policies and saving lives."

Earlier this week Alex spoke to his parents at their home in Offham, near Lewes, and discussed events in the region with his father, a former Foreign Office minister.

Alex said: "I cannot remember an event in my life which has affected the whole world like this. The consequences of war could be disastrous."

He said his parents had become used to him working in war zones after he covered conflicts as a journalist in Kosovo, Israel, and Sierra Leone.

Alex's mother Alice said: "We are proud he's able to do something effective. It would be selfish to worry about his safety but as a parent you are always concerned about your children being in dangerous places.

"His father and I have grown used to this sort of thing as aid work has become a bit of a tradition in the family. All five of our children have worked for different aid agencies at one time or another."

Alex's youngest sister Polly is currently in Kenya, brother Dan has just returned from Equatorial Guinea where he was working for UNICEF, eldest sister Christian is in Bangladesh, while middle-sister Chelsea was awarded an MBE for her work in Croatia and Bosnia.

Alex described the situation in Pakistan as tense and said he and other ex-pats were required to take security measures for their own safety.

He said: "There are dangers over here but it feels wrong to worry about yourself when your friends and colleagues in the country have no idea what tomorrow holds.

"I agree action is necessary but we must not descend to the methods of the terrorists. We must keep the moral high ground.

"All we are asking is for things to be done in a way which will not cause harm to innocent people."