A Sri Lankan mum has gone on a hunger strike over the war raging in her home country.

Kanga Atphuthasigamani, 47 from Croydon, began her part in a staggered hunger strike last night at Parliament Square in Westminster.

The staggered fast runs from January 19 to February 4 and those taking part include young, old, businessmen, students and the retired.

A spokesman for Tamil Youth Organisation UK said: “We request every single Tamil person to come and support to raise our voice toward the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown MP.

“Our appeal is to strongly urge the Prime Minister to put pressure on the Sri Lankan and Indian governments to call for an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

“This is the time for us to word harder than ever before for the life or death situation of Tamil people in Vanni.”

The Tamil Youth Organisation claim governments across the world are turning a blind eye at the death toll in the civil war which has been waged for decades.

It is believed up to 100, 000 Tamil men, women and children have been killed and one million Tamils have fled the country since the war began in 1983.