THE Romanian people were 'fantastic' said aid trip man Mike Authers – but his team had to work hard to make sure goods did not fall into the hands of corrupt officials.

"We made it in the end – we kept our promise," said Mike Authers of Coleford. "And we're all back safely, but it was hard to leave the children and all the friends we made.

"We couldn't believe the way some officials were behaving though – even with goods intended for children – so we got around the problem by making sure we handed it all out ourselves without involving middle men.

"Now we have built up a contact network we can really trust and we will be much better prepared for future trips."

Since arriving back this week the team is already planning a run to take aid to a leper company in the far south of the country next June, and they will also return to the orphanage they helped this year and refurbish its bathroom.

"We will be refitting it from top to bottom, transforming it from ancient to modern," he said.

The aid they took for the orphanage and people on the poverty line living in high-density flats had been welcomed, and they had accomplished their aims of cleaning and refitting a TB hospital from top to bottom and building an adventure playground for children.

One of the social highlights had been staging a Wild West show at a local wedding. "It was an enormous success," he said.

"The Romanians are fantastic people, despite all the hardships," he said. "It is hard to believe the scale of the poverty, but they were never pushy or demanding."

Mike and his Old West re-enactment team, who call themselves the Texas Drovers, will be concentrating on collecting medicines and hygiene material for the next run, as well as clothing, baby necessities and toys for children.

Mike has a video recording of the trip and many photographs and would like to hear from groups who want to learn about the journey. He can be contacted on 01594 835967.