At a moment's notice, firefighter Geoff Parkinson found himself on a plane flying to the war-torn Middle East.

He was one of 12 members of a charity's search-and-rescue team asked to help in the refugee community of Jenin.

The Palestinian town is part of the occupied territories and has been devastated by the Israeli government's military offensive.

The United Nations asked Rapid UK, a charity dedicated to rescuing survivors trapped in buildings after disasters, if they could help out.

Mr Parkinson, 35, a Sub Officer at Preston Park fire station in Brighton, said: "Rapid was asked whether we would be going out there because there had been reports of people being trapped in destroyed buildings.

"We spoke to a UN co-ordinator over there and originally they told us not to go. Then last Saturday morning the UN had reports of people trapped.

"They thought it was better to be safe than sorry so a team of 12 of us jumped on an aeroplane and went over there a few hours later. We came back on Tuesday.

"Most of the town had been heavily bombed.

"There was a very nasty smell in the town because of the bad sanitation and there was a strong smell of corpses and death.

"There were no tents, no sanitation, no evidence of food aid and the town's electricity and water were cut off."

The group stayed in an old UN school.

Mr Parkinson recalled: "The International Red Cross had sent in people to check whether it was safe for us in terms of bombs.

"While we were over there, two children were killed by bombs and another two badly injured.

"After the Red Cross checks, we started asking people for details about people they knew were missing or thought were missing.

"We then narrowed our search down to four or five areas where people were still possibly trapped.

"We did not find anyone alive during our time there. We came across four or five dead bodies.

"There is no doubt that us being there has made a difference to a lot of people. We were able to tell the UN which buildings were clear."

This was the sixth mercy mission Mr Parkinson, who lives in Christie Avenue, Ringmer, has been on since qualifying as a member of the Rapid team in 1998.

The first place he visited was the northern Gujarat province in India in January 2001 after an earthquake.

While there, he rescued a 13-year-old boy from beneath 20ft of rubble. As a result he was nominated in The Argus for an Achievement Award.

Mr Parkinson is modest about his bravery. He said: "In the great scheme of things what we do is a tiny part of a huge problem.

"I would not be able to what I do without the help of others like my boss Chief Officer Des Pritchard, my wife Jacqueline, who has to put up with me going at a moment's notice, and all the people I work with who cover for me when I have to go away. They are all contributing."