A CHARITY worker has vowed to never again enter Germany after being held for four hours by armed police while they stripped his vehicle.

Convoy Aid founder Rod Jones and his wife, Gabriella, along with 14-year-old volunteer Ashley Clough, from Norton, near Stockton, were forced to stand in freezing temperatures while officers ripped out carpets and searched their 4x4.

The incident happened as they crossed the German border on the return leg of an aid trip to Romania.

The group was on its way back to Teesside after delivering aid to a remote Romanian community when it drove into a German customs operation that was searching for drugs being smuggled from eastern Europe.

Mr Jones said: "The car is clearly marked with the charity's logo, but they chose to ignore this. It must have been a very frightening experience for Ashley."

The volunteers had set out on their aid trip shortly before Christmas for the Romanian community of Iash, following a Convoy Aid lorry carrying 22 tonnes of essentials for people living in the town.

"Once I find a way to get to Romania without entering Germany, I will be delighted. I have no intention of setting foot in the country again, unless I really have to," he said.

"But I can guarantee one thing - this experience has not put me off going to Romania again."