A NORTH-EAST sailor has been playing a key role coordinating disaster relief in the aftermath of a hurricane.
Consett serviceman Mark Lavery, 22, and the crew of destroyer HMS Cardiff were near the Caribbean when Hurricane Keith ripped into Belize. It brought 26 inches of rain in a day, and damaged 30 per cent of the buildings on one of the islands.
Mr Lavery said: "The hurricane knocked out the electricity, water supplies and the telephone system.
"As a communications specialist, I could provide communications between the ship and shore, coordinating the relief effort and making sure that the right supplies were sent out to where they were needed.
"A lot of the poorer people live in wooden shacks and these were simply blown away, but we built some temporary wooden buildings."
Mr Lavery is an ex-pupil of St Bede's RC School, Lanchester. His parents, Dennis and Katherine, live in Blackhill, Consett.
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