Harrogate fire service on 12-hour stand-by for Japan

Firefighters from North Yorkshire have been put on 12-hour standby to help with the rescue effort following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said its role would be to either provide clean water or to clear flood water from towns and villages.

Volunteers from Harrogate have been checking equipment in preparation.

Mal Austwick from the fire service said it was used to seeing devastation but "not on the scale they have in Japan."

Mr Austwick said the Japanese government had not yet requested their assistance but it was likely their help would be needed beyond the initial rescue stage.

He said: "Our firefighters that have volunteered have seen a lot of things over recent years where they've actually gone to other counties within England to support flooding victims, such as the Cumbria incident, and the Buncefield incident.

"We're really looking forward to seeing what assistance we can provide to the Japanese people."