THE East Lancashire firemen who went to India to help in the relief effort after last week's earthquake have returned home to tell of the amazing generosity and willpower of the Indian people.

Ged Richmond, Andy Barnes and Mark Southworth flew into Manchester Airport last night after spending a week in Gujarat, the province at the centre of the quake which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale.

They were among a task force of North West firefighters who carried out a mercy mission in the stricken country.

Andy said: "The first thing that struck us when we got off the plane was the sheer scale of the destruction.

"We travelled for 11 hours on a bus from Ahmadabad to Bhuj and all you could see was destroyed houses and towns.

"When we arrived at Bhuj, we planned what we were going to do, set up camp in 20 minutes and immediately set to work, there was no time for anything else. We each got about one-and-a-half hours sleep that night before getting to work again.

"The teams were split into groups of five, we each had to search a very large area but there was no way we were giving up."

They said that pulling people out from the rubble was the best feeling in the world, but as the week went on fewer and fewer were being pulled out alive. They also said the willpower and generosity of the Indian people was amazing. Mark said: "We went to see one woman who we had pulled out of the rubble and she was manning the soup kitchen. There was one man who started helping the effort as soon as he was pulled out as well.

"In such difficult circumstances it was unbelievable that the Indian people could find it in their hearts to thank us and that made the job more worthwhile."

Leading firefighter Ged, who lives and works at Burnley, Sub-officer Andy, who lives in Oswaldtwistle but is based at Blackburn and firefighter Mark, who lives in Darwen and is also based at Blackburn were part of a team of 11 from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service that flew out to India, they were joined in the UK Search and Rescue Team.

There are also teams from Russia, France, Japan, Israel, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Poland dealing with the rescue effort and treating victims. The Lancashire lads were involved in the rescue of several people including a 28-year-old woman who was trapped under the rubble of a five-storey building.

However, aftershocks measuring up to 4.2 on the Richter scale were hampering the effort to save anyone else. But that did not stop the teams staying on an extra 24 hours to try and save more people.

Ged said: "There were very strong aftershocks and there was a significant risk of further destruction.

"It was very hot during the day and towards the end of our time there you could notice the smell of bodies. Some were not even under rubble. But it was fairly cold at night which helped people stay alive longer."

The three returned to their families on last night and will return to work at their stations on Monday.