County firefighters head to Turkey to help with earthquake search and rescue

County firefighters heading to Turkey to help at the earthquake disaster sites, including Pete Wakefield (second from left) who lives in Melton

Four local firefighters are flying to Turkey to help rescue teams at the sites of the devastating earthquakes which have killed thousands of people in the country and neighbouring Syria.

The Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service crew members include Pete Wakefield, who lives in Melton and who is currently starring in the Channel 4 TV show, SAS Who Dares Wins.

They will be joining up with the UK International Search and Rescue (ISAR) squad deployed to the disaster sites.

A spokesperson for the county fire service said: “Four of our firefighters are heading to Turkey as part of the UK ISAR Team to help with the search and rescue mission following the devastating earthquakes.

"A total of 77 UK ISAR team members will support the search and rescue mission.”

More than 9.500 people are now known to have died in Monday’s horrifying earthquakes – people are still being rescued but the death toll is expected to rise.