Photographer Stewart Weir is to visit a refugee camp in Afghanistan for one of his most challenging assignments.

He has been commissioned by UK charity War Child to take pictures showing the daily horror endured by ordinary families in a country devastated by more than 30 years of conflict.

Father-of-two Mr Weir, 39, who lives in Brighton, said: "This is something which needs to be seen and documented. Hopefully, taking these pictures will strike a chord and make people understand what they have got.

"When you return from these places and come back to Brighton, you have a different perception on life.

"What we have compared to other people around the world is quite disgusting."

Mr Weir has been commissioned to take pictures of a bakery project near the Afghan city of Herat, 75 miles from the Iranian border, from January 14.

The project will feed thousands of refugees battling to survive harsh conditions in tents and holes dug into the stark landscape, where temperatures can plummet to as low as minus 25C (minus 13F).

The bakery will supply the Shaidayee refugee camp, which was established two years ago and has a population of more than 23,000.

The experience will be far removed from Mr Weir's more mundane freelance assignments, such as cheque presentations and corporate photo shoots. His work has also featured in a book about Brighton and Hove Albion called Albion, The First 100 Years.

War Child has warned him that the situation in the camps is one of misery.

He said: "It is extremely cold with little or no fuel for heating or cooking.

"Last year, more than 100 people died.

"The UN World Food Programme is getting food to the camps but many children, particularly the girls, have very few warm clothes or footwear and there appears to be a shortage of blankets."

Mr Weir's pictures will be wired back to the UK and circulated by War Child.

Anyone wanting to make a donation can contact the charity at PO Box 20231, London, NW5 3WP or call 020 7916 9276.