A TIVERTON man and his daughter have been working with a charity to provide an emergency services vehicle to people in Romania.

Steve Gardner, and his daughter Katie, travelled to Romania with a trustee of the charity the Carand Action Romania.

The trio visited the village of Carand to talk about the Suzuki Jimny 4x4.

Mr Gardner then returned in May to deliver the vehicle, which is now used as a rapid response vehicle. This is particularly helpful in the village as it is prone to experience forest fire.

Mr Gardner said: "The car will be carrying fire safety clothing for the volunteer fire fighters there.

"We also talked with them about the provision to replace an old and broken fire engine."

The car was donated by Reg and Judith Taylor of the Tiverton Sausage Company, Mr Taylor joined Mr Gardner on their trip to deliver the vehicle to Carand. The car was resprayed by Gelvin Williams, valeted by Adam Retter and the sign was written by Ken White Signs of Tiverton.

Contributions towards travel costs were provided by Brittany Ferries and Tracks of Exeter.

Mr Gardner had started his own charity, Getting Aid to Europe (GATE) that came to a natural end, and was then approached by the CAR, a charity he is now a trustee of.

He added: “I started going back in February 1992. I was invited by a friend of mine to join him in driving vans over to deliver humanitarian aid.

“I then returned in May, and something happened, I got the bug and I knew I had to go back again.

“At the time there was a lot of press about the conditions of Romania, but that didn't prepare me for what I saw.

“The poverty, especially in the rural areas, is what hit me. I knew I had to come back and try to help as much as I can.”

The drive to Romania takes three days across 1,500 miles. Mr Gardner and his family usually prefer to fly over rather than taking on the drive.

"My daughters love going with me, usually we all go. Unfortunately we haven't all been together this year, but hopefully we can next year."

Mr Gardner has visited a variety of places in Romania, including schools, orphanages and churches and has got to know the people that live there.

Boxes from the Tiverton Shoe Box Appeal were sent to Hunedora, a city in Romania. The city benefitted from 6,000 donation boxes that were given to poor families in the area.

Since returning home from his visit to deliver the rapid response vehicle, Mr Gardner has successful bid for a fire engine, which he hopes to deliver on Wednesday, July 20.