John Gumery, EH Smith sales estimator with Jody Horton from Solihull green watch, one of the firefighters travelling to Siret

A Solihull firefighter and his colleagues from around the Midlands have once again travelled to Romania to help disadvantaged young people.
Sean McMenamin, based at Bickenhill fire station, was spearheading the Romanian Aid Appeal from West Midlands Fire Service, which this time faced its biggest challenge yet.
Two teams travelled to Siret in northern Romania to build two single storey blocks of apartments for orphaned youngsters.
The firefighters have an association with the Solihull-based Romanian Challenge Appeal which stretches back more than 15 years, constructing a range of new buildings in the former Eastern Bloc country.
The Romanian Challenge Appeal was set up by Monica McDaid, from Solihull, who was horrified at the conditions orphans with disabilities in Siret were forced to live in.
She set about transforming their lives and over the last 15 years new facilities have been built to improve their quality of life.
The apartments built will provide accommodation for young adults who have left the children's home, who are going into employment and being re-integrated into society.
Sean, who lives in Dickens Heath, was in charge of overseeing the building project.
He supervised and organised two teams, the first of which travelled out on September 22. In all 39 volunteers travelled to Romania to volunteer their skills. Around 60 per cent of them were firefighters, while the remaining 40 per cent were from other walks of life.
Their task was made easier by generous donations from suppliers, particularly EH Smith Builder's Merchants in Haslucks Green Road, Shirley, who donated materials worth around £9,000. The materials were transported to Romania by Royal Mail
The cost of materials for the entire project was estimated to be in the region of £35-40,000.
Sean said: "I would like to say thank-you to all the suppliers who have donated materials, particularly EH Smith and Direct Roofing Supplies. We have said it would take a generation to sort things out there. The influence the Romanian Challenge Appeal has had is immense and they have done a tremendous job."