THE extraordinary efforts of a retired police officer and his wife are transforming the education of 350 children in one of the world's poorest countries.

A chance visit to a run-down school in Africa's mountain kingdom of Lesotho made former traffic policeman Alan Gardner and his wife Jean, who worked as a school secretary, determined to do what they could to help.

Over the past six years, the couple, who live in Byers Green, County Durham, have raised £6,000 to treble the size of the Masite Nek primary school.

They were on a month-long backpacking holiday in South Africa in the summer of 1999 when they went on a day trip to the former British protectorate.

In a small, isolated town, Mrs Gardner spotted children in blue jumpers playing outside a dilapidated range of buildings.

Shocked to discover it was a school, the couple were even more dismayed at what they saw when they accepted an invitation to look inside the buildings.

With no electricity, running water or toilets, the only heat came from wood burned in a 40-gallon oil drum drilled with holes.

Children sat on planks supported by breeze blocks, and the floors were made from cow dung which had been smoothed by hand.

Windows were broken by some of the violent hailstorms which hit the country, known as "the kingdom in the sky", and there was little sign of books, paper or writing equipment.

Mr Gardner said: "What we saw was a real shock. And to top it all, only children whose parents could pay received an education.

"When we got home, we decided to do all we could to help, and from that point, it's just grown."

Mr Gardner, 64, ran in the Great North Run, but most of the money comes from fundraising among family and friends.

They sent out surplus uniforms from Durham High School and Durham Choristers School, while Willington Primary School, where Mrs Gardner worked for 33 years, has provided old maths books, which are useful because English is the pupils' second language.

The donations have helped to pay for two new classrooms, a kitchen and desks, and the couple are now aiming to build toilets and repair the water pump.

Some of the money also pays for the education of some of the school's 40 orphaned pupils.

Mr Gardner said: "There is still much to be done and we will help for as long as we can."

Anyone wishing to make a donation is asked to call Mr and Mrs Gardner on (01388) 605969.