A TALENTED war photographer is offering to give away a harrowing collection of pictures to help raise money for charity.

John Gibb, a media tutor at Darlington College of Technology, took the distressing pictures over a ten-year period.

He kept the collection, which covers the period from 1991 to 2001, and documents the effects of war in regions such as Kosovo, Rwanda, Bosnia and Sierra Leone.

He was commissioned to take the photographs for a fundraising display called Children in War, which was exhibited in London, Birmingham and Barcelona.

The experience prompted Mr Gibb, of Bedale, North Yorkshire, to launch a children's charity, the Trauma International Children's Trust, when he returned.

The 18 framed pictures are traumatic, but not explicit, and successfully capture the mood of countries blighted by conflict.

Among the shots taken in Kosovo is one showing child scavenging for food and another showing a young victim.

But perhaps the most moving is the image of a child drinking from a dirty puddle in Rwanda. The boy died just days later from dysentery.

Mr Gibb said: "I found 22in by 18in prints in my wardrobe when we were having some work done in the house and have been wondering what to do with them.

"I would love to give them to a good cause, perhaps a charity that works with children. It was a harrowing and humbling experience working in these countries and it was difficult for my family when I returned home."

Mr Gibb took up teaching at Darlington College of Technology five years ago and teaches students the art of moving image.

His experiences so affected him, he was inspired to write a novel based on a fictional female photojournalist working in war zones around the world. He is looking for a publisher.

The contemporary thriller, called Gemini, is about an illegal diamond. The plot concerns the psychological traumas suffered by the main character as a result of her experience of war and involves her following a trail that leads to Bin Laden.

If anyone is interested in taking the photographs are asked to contact Mr Gibb on 07756-951220.