A former student of Brighton College has flown into the middle of the Iraq war to help avert a possible humanitarian crisis.

Alex Renton, an aid worker for Oxfam who grew up in Lewes, is working at a refugee camp in Jordan on the border with Iraq.

He will be helping to provide food and shelter for thousands of Iraqis forced to flee their homes during the war.

According to the United Nations, up to three million Iraqi civilians could seek refuge in bordering countries in the coming weeks.

Mr Renton is calling on the Government to ensure Iraqi civilians are protected from military action and from the humanitarian consequences of conflict.

Speaking from the camp in Jordan, he said: "The warring parties have obligations under international law to avoid civilian casualties and to ensure civilians have safe access to food, shelter, water and medical attention.

"The international community must now ensure the UN plays the lead role in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and in reconstruction after hostilities."

That could prove a difficult task if UN members who refused to back military action in Iraq, notably France and Germany, refuse to pay for reconstruction afterwards.

The US and UK have already pledged to rebuild Iraq once the bombing stops and provide humanitarian relief during the conflict.

Oxfam, however, along with Christian Aid, Cafod, Save the Children and Christian Aid, said it was inappropriate for parties engaged in military conflict to lead the humanitarian plan.

Mr Renton was until recently chief features editor for the Evening Standard.

As a reporter, he covered conflicts from Africa to the Middle East but for the past two years he has worked for Oxfam as an international media officer.

Meanwhile, football coach and former Brighton resident Stephen Constantine is preparing his team to play in a war zone.

As manager of the Indian national soccer team, Mr Constantine and his players are due to face the football field in the rogue nation of North Korea on Monday.

If he progresses through a two-legged tie with the Communist state, the team face the daunting prospect of ties in Iran, Jordan and the Lebanon during the Middle East conflict.

Like Iraq, North Korea has been highlighted by Britain and the United States as a major threat, particularly with its nuclear capabilities.

Indeed, the CIA web site states: "North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community."

Mr Constantine, 40, is trying to put this to the back of his mind as he leads his players out in the cauldron of Pyongyang.

He told The Argus: "I'm a little bit apprehensive about going to North Korea - things could kick off at any time.

"But I try not to worry too much. I'm sure we would not be allowed to go if it was unsafe.

"As far as the group stage afterwards is concerned, I can't think about that yet.

"This will be a very tough game."

His wife Lucy said: "It's terrible at the moment as we don't know exactly what is going to happen. I am worried but Stephen is in love with his game."

Mr Constantine was due to fly with his players into China on Thursday and from there board one of only two weekly international flights into Pyongyang, arriving today ahead of the match.

Mrs Constantine is remaining at their home on the island of Goa with their two young daughters, Paula and Christiana. They moved there from Brighton when Mr Constantine took the India job last June.

Four top-flight football teams are based on the island, meaning he can keep a close eye on the cream of the country's players without moving too far across the vast sub-continent.

It is a far cry from Bournemouth reserves, where he was plying his trade before getting the call from India.

He previously coached the Nepalese national side, as well as in Cyprus and the United States after an undistinguished playing career with the likes of Enfield Town and the Pennsylvania Stoners.

His regard as an international coach is very high, however. He was awarded the Probal Gorkha Dakshin Baahu, the Nepalese equivalent of an OBE medal, and is now enjoying considerable success with India.

He said: "We won the LG Cup in Vietnam, which was India's first trophy for 32 years. We also did quite well in the Asian Games, missing qualification by just a single goal.

"Things are going well but we have a lot of work to do regarding the structure of the set-up. Before, there was not really any continuity from the under-17s to the under-20s to the under-23s to the senior side. So I am revamping that and starting from scratch."

Presently, India are ranked 123rd in the world, having risen seven places since Mr Constantine took over.

The team, led by former Bury player Baichung Bhutia, will be hoping to continue their good progress and build on the tremendous support in their home country.

Mr Constantine said: "As far as popularity is concerned, football is not that far behind cricket among Indians but it needs to be marketed properly. Hundreds of thousands of kids are playing football and there is a lot of interest.

"We have just had a three-day conference with the Asian Football Confederation and Fifa about how to develop things further in India."