A SEARCH and rescue team from the region is barred from aiding Haiti earthquake victims due to a chronic lack of funds due to the recession.

The International Rescue Corps, which has a North Yorkshire base, is trained to deal with missions like finding disaster zone victims.

Unfortunately the service which is completely funded by donations is struggling to generate money as a result of the recession hitting spending.

The service has seen public donations drop by 80 per cent this year and it has spent all its available funds on other disasters.

The recent Haiti earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter Scale, has left an estimated 50,000 people dead.

Many were buried under rubble or collapsed buildings which is who the International Rescue Corps is trained to find.

Volunteer rescue worker Julie Ryan, of Welburn, near Malton, North Yorkshire, said it was shame they could not help.

She said: "If we had the funds then we would be on the first plane out there.

"Unfortunately we have run out of funds and so we have no way of getting ourselves across there to help.

"The credit crunch has hit deep and the public donations we rely on have dropped by 80 per cent.

"We go out and find survivors trapped amongst the rubble but we really need to be there in the first 48 hours after a disaster to be of the most help."

Over recent years the International Rescue Corps has been involved in missions to earthquake zones in China in 2008 and Pakistan in 2005.