DOCTORS are calling on the British government to help hundreds of refugees who are stranded in the Mediterranean, as conditions onboard the ship which rescured them rapidly deteriorate.

More than 300 men, women and children are languishing on the Ocean Viking, a boat that has been denied access to its nearest ports in Malta and Italy.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee, which run the vessel, have sounded the alarm after spending the last fortnight floating in international waters while European nations bicker over letting them dock.