A MERCY-mission of 20 tonnes of urgently-needed water purification equipment flew from Stansed to refugees fleeing Kosovo.

The relief aid left London Stansted on Good Friday on a four-hour flight to Skopje, from where Oxfam representatives used trucks to ferry the equipment to refugee camps close to the Macedonian border.

The flight was arranged for Oxfam by international charter broker Chapman Freeborn Airchartering and operated by British carrier HeavyLift Cargo Airlines.

Commercial director of HeavyLift Cargo Airlines Graham Pearce said: "The flight operated within 24 hours of the original call from Oxfam.

"Indications suggest this will be the first of many such flights we will be asked to undertake."

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