AN EMERGENCY carer is jetting back to a disaster zone to help continue the mammoth task of rebuilding lives after the devastating tsunami.

Peter Pollard, a York ambulance care assistant, travelled to one of the worst hit parts of Sri Lanka in February.

Haxby-based Peter helped set up a clean water system in coastal Kalmunai after a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered sea surges and killed more than 200,000 across Asia on Boxing Day.

He sold the few possessions he owned - including a car and motorbike - to pay for his plane ticket, and the filtration system helped get 200,000 litres of water per day to 10,000 refugees.

Now Peter is preparing for a return visit, this time to ensure that residents who lost everything and are still in emergency camps are self-sufficient until new homes are finally built.

He called on York residents to support his efforts by donating tools to make his trip a success.

He called for them to give up power tools and circular saws so his team can teach disaster victims how to make replacement chairs, tables and other furniture.

Peter, 42, who lives near Wigginton and works for the ambulance service transferring patients between homes and hospital, said: "Our main aim is to implement minimum standard procedures, for things such as water cleanliness and basic hygiene, in the camps.

"If we can put into action these practices, and educate the locals about their importance, the basic infrastructure is there to build on."

He said: "We will also help people make things like tables and jewellery and make sure minimum standards are kept at the camps, before homes are rebuilt."

Peter was trained by the RedR emergency relief organisation, which equips people with the skills to tackle problems in disaster zones immediately.

Along with his ambulance knowledge, he said he was fully prepared to work amid the harrowing scenes that greeted him in February.

But he said the battered landscape looked like "the sea had rolled everything back like a carpet". He said: "That was the power of the sea. Everybody had lost someone, but the refugees were so brave. They were still pitching tents on the beach."

He said the motivation behind his selfless work was his religion and his own family circumstances, after losing his father when he was seven.

Peter flies out on Monday for another three months. Anyone interested in donating tools should phone 01904 666041. Also wanted are a camcorder, digital camera - to keep a diary of the visit - and children's DVDs, cartoons and posters.

Updated: 10:11 Saturday, August 20, 2005