When Syed Iftikhar,the Senior Vice President of the Rotary Club of Derby South, heard about the plight of the Pakistan earthquake survivors, he and five of his colleagues decided to act immediately.

They flew to Pakistan and treated hundreds of patients, saving dozens of lives.

The devastation and  the suffering which they encountered was on a scale which none of team had previously encountered.

But in five days the seven-strong medical team saw 1,200 patients and carried out 130 operations, mainly for broken bones and gangrene, including two amputations. All survived.

For Mr Iftikhar (50), of Snelston Crescent, Littleover, the conditions he and his colleagues had to live in, albeit only for a week, was also a shock.

Living in a tent, sleeping in their clothes because of freezing temperatures at night, they washed with bottled water and went to the toilet in the open air. Balakot's infrastructure has been destroyed and there is no sanitation.

He said: "It was very difficult for us. None of us had experienced conditions like that before

The team took 130 cartons of medical supplies and 50 cartons of blankets, water filter boxes and other supplies, plus £40,000 in donations to give to people for food, clothing and transport.

The money was raised locally by the Rotary clubs in Derby, from personal donations and by collections, including a two-day collection outside St Peter's Church, Derby, which SVP Syed Iftikhar helped with.