A CONTAINER of medical equipment has left the region to help disadvantaged people in West Africa.

The charity mission was organised by Darlington Rotary Club. Among the equipment were 100 pairs of crutches, electrocardiogram machines, blood pressure monitors and drugs.

The container was organised by Darlington Rotary Club member Roger James, who went with his wife, Alison, to visit medical projects that the Rotary Club in the North-East was involved with in Benin, Togo and Ghana.

Mr James, a retired GP, said he was shocked at the standard of the medical equipment.

He said: "I went out to one of the main hospitals and it was about 90 years behind.

"When I qualified as a doctor, we had stopped using some of the equipment they are still using."

The equipment has been donated through the Friends of Darlington Memorial Hospital and from doctors and chemists.

Lingfield Warehousing Limited housed all the items prior to their departure, and the container was loaded with the help of students from Darlington Education Village.

Mr James thanked everybody who helped with the project, and said: "We have had such a lot of support, everybody has been absolutely fantastic."