PRISONERS from the region are working to improve the lives of disabled people in other countries.
The group, from the drug therapeutic wing at Holme House prison in Stockton, has enrolled on a scheme to refurbish and update old NHS wheelchairs which were considered beyond repair.
The prisoners are learning the skills needed to renovate the chairs, which will then be distributed in countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe.
The project is being run in conjunction with national organisation the Inside Out Trust which encourages offenders towards worthwhile employment by teaching essential skills and integrating prisoners back into the community.
A spokesman for the Holme House scheme said: "The project actively involves prisoners from the workshops in the stripping and repair of approximately 24 wheelchairs on a monthly basis.
"A major improvement for the wheelchairs is the replacement of pneumatic tyres with solid tyres.
"Any parts needed as part of the refurbishment are provided by the Inside Out Trust."
The first consignment of wheelchairs updated by the prisoners was collected by regional coordinator of the Inside Out Trust David Brown yesterday.
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