STEVE Cole, from Worton, near Devizes, has been helping to rebuild a workshop which will enable orphaned teenagers in Romania to get jobs.

Mr Cole, 47, spent a week in Baiamare, in Romania, with the Maramures Young Person's Trust renovating a barn so it could be used as a workshop.

The barn needed a new roof, its interior walls removed and its floor concreted.

Mr Cole, a leading firefighter based at Salisbury, said: "We were up at 6am and didn't stop working until 7pm.

"The orphans can now work safely in the workshops. They think they are fantastic.

The orphans will use the workshops to make furniture such as beds, cupboards and chests of drawers.

"The workshops are essential because once orphans reach the age of 16 they are given a home by a charity called Hope and Homes but they are required to have a job," Mr Cole said.

"The workshops will enable orphans to get a job and therefore a home.

"Without a job or a home there's nothing for them and they end up on the streets often getting involved with prostitution and drugs."

Mr Cole would like people willing to donate cash or new power tools to contact him on (01380) 728516.