SUPPORT is being sought in the Okehampton area for a charity which provides recuperation breaks for the children of Chernobyl — the site of the world's worst nuclear accident 26 years ago.

There are hopes that a West Devon link of the Chernobyl Children's Life Line can be set up in the future, following the latest visit by a group of ten girls to the East Cornwall area.

Since 1991 some 45,000 children from Chernobyl have been brought to the UK by the charity. These three and four-week stays have been proven to increase the children's lifespan by approximately two years.

Radiation from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine, which was the site of an explosion in 1986, continues to cause health problems in children, namely slow development, poor dental health and immune disorders.?Children have a ten times higher than normal rate of thyroid cancer.

Chairman of the North Cornwall branch of the charity Terence Voysey said: 'The objective is not so much a holiday as recuperation. The children get plenty of fresh air, clean food, see the dentist and have jolly good fun in the bargain.

'These children were not born until some 15 years or so after the nuclear accident happened but still they suffer daily. We aim to send them home in good health with a smile on their faces.

'We have charity links across Cornwall and Devon but Central and West Devon is not really represented and it would be great, given what the area has to offer, if we could actually get public support and set up a new link in the area.'

The charity relies on donations but also vital are the host families.

'It is a big thing for children of that young age to leave their parents and come here for four weeks, feeling like they have flown halfway around the world and not speaking the language,' added Mr Voysey. 'Good host families make all the difference.'

He said even though the children were relatively healthy now, the sad reality was that most of them would go on and develop cancer or other life-threatening illnesses.

'It has been proven that three or four weeks in the UK normally extends the lifespan of these children by approximately two years.

'­These children live just outside the exclusion zone of the disaster and some of them are carers for family members who are suffering cancer as a result of the radiation.'

Firefighters have always been involved in the Chernobyl Children's Life Line charity, which was set up to help the families of firefighters who died in the 1986 accident and other children affected. Since the disaster, there is little employment, and poverty is rife.

Callington fire station in East Cornwall raises funds and provided a fun day for the children last week.

The children visited a Tavistock dental practice and also had a trip to the opticians to get their eyes checked.?They spent three nights in a caravan at the seaside in Somerset and visited a number of theme parks and animal attractions.

For more information about the charity or if you would like to support a new link in West Devon contact Terence Voysey on 01208 77689 or go to the national website: http://www.ccll.org.uk/northcornwall">www.ccll.org.uk/northcornwall.