THREE Warrington firefighters have been sent on a mercy mission to help earthquake victims in Turkey.

Phil Blakemore and Keith Roughley, of Winwick Road fire station, and John Pugh, based at Stockton Heath, were given just 45 minutes notice of the trip.

The trio sped down to Gatwick airport on Tuesday afternoon before flying to Izmit in north west Turkey which was hit by an earthquake measuring six to seven on the Richter scale, killing and injuring thousands of people.

The men are part of the United Kingdom Search and Rescue Team, a specially trained squad of volunteers who assist in disaster relief all over the world, and are part of a team of five from Cheshire heading off to the devastated area.

John received the call at work and dashed home to pack a bag.

"We have just dropped everything," he said, "but we don't have much information and we have no idea what we will find when we get there.

"I imagine there will be a lot of injuries and some not very nice scenes. It will mean a lot of hard work but hopefully we may be able to help because we are getting out there so quickly."

The team is taking a lot of specialist equipment on the trip.

John added: "We have thermal imaging cameras which detect body heat and special sonic devices which are very sound sensitive.

"We also have personal protection equipment including elbow and knee pads, and ropes."

It is not yet known how long the men will be in Turkey.

"We've got one tent between us," said John, "so we will be living rough for a while. But we have been trained for this."

Cheshire's Chief Fire Officer Steve McGuirk said: "It is not always realised that firefighters have a vast range of skills and resourcefulness.

"We are pleased that personnel from Cheshire will be at the forefront of the rescue response."

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