THE tenth anniversary of an appeal to take aid to Romania has seen the largest-ever consignment dispatched for eastern Europe.

The Northallerton-based New Life for Romania Appeal gathered 1,013 boxes weighing 12.5 metric tonnes.

Items dispatched include clothes for adults, children and babies as well as prams, pushchairs, bicycles, sewing machines, food and medical supplies and 2,500 Christmas shoe-boxes.

The load filled a 40ft trailer from floor to roof and took a 12-strong team of volunteers more than two hours to load. They were ably assisted by the fork-lift truck driving skills of Peter Pybus, the owner of the warehouse facility in Thornton- le-Moor where the aid had been stored, sorted and packed.

The vehicle left Thornton-le- Moor on Saturday for its journey to Dover and then through France, Germany, Austria and Hungary before reaching Aiud, in Romania, today.

Appeal co-ordinator Janet Pentelow said: "Seeing the truck packed full of boxes brought home how hard people have worked in preparing shoeboxes and raising funds, as well as the incredible generosity of groups, organisations and individuals who have contributed so much.

"This will make a real difference to the families we support in Romania and in particular the Christmas shoeboxes will bring happiness to a lot of children. On behalf of the organising committee, I wish to thank everyone who has helped with this year's appeal."