A PARAMEDIC is giving up celebrating his birthday and Christmas with his family to help Ebola sufferers in West Africa.

Chris Williams, from Worthing, has just arrived in Sierra Leone as part of a team of volunteers helping those suffering from the fatal virus.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most deadly.

There have been 15,300 suspected and confirmed cases – with about 5,500 deaths – across eight countries since the beginning of the outbreak in March.

Mr Williams, 58, is no stranger to danger zones, having been involved with aid work in Romania following the collapse of communism and being one of the first ambulance crews to arrive on the scene in the aftermath of the Brighton bombing 30 years ago.

He will be helping Ebola victims during the next eight weeks.

He said: “I think that we have the skillset and are ideal to help these people – and from the footage that I’ve seen we need to do something.

“So I discussed it with the family, who have been very supportive, and put in my application.”

Mr Williams, whose birthday is on Christmas Day, is part of the second cohort of NHS staff, who have been deployed to the region by UK-Med and led through the Department for International Development.

In the week leading up to his deployment, Mr Williams underwent intensive training in Worcester, which included vital sessions on using personal protective suits. He arrived in Freetown on Sunday and will be working at one of six British-built Ebola treatment centres in Sierra Leone.

Before starting work he will undertake further training and acclimatisation, including dry-runs within the treatment centre where he will be working.

The UK already has one centre open at Kerry Town, which is being run by Save the Children. The other five treatment centres are about to open.

Mr Williams, who works for South East Coast Ambulance Service, said: “It is exciting but equally a little daunting. “It isn’t going to be easy but it is the right thing to do – and potentially life-changing.”