A PENSIONER who has devoted more than 15 years to helping underprivileged children in Poland is calling on Worcestershire residents to help in his latest quest.

Stan Marshall, aged 77, has been the driving force behind a City Mission for poor families, in Ciechanow, near Warsaw, and has also built a Christian Youth Centre in the forests north-west of Warsaw, with the help of volunteers.

Now, the former minister of the Free Church is appealing for donations of "good condition" second-hand bicycles to take the children on cycling holidays.

Mr Marshall, from Whitbourne, near Worcester, regularly drives the 1,000 miles to the youth centre to deliver medical and other supplies.

He also campaigns tirelessly, speaking at churches and youth groups, to raise money for his charity, the Andrew League Trust, which funds the work.

He hopes to be able to take a dozen children at a time on holiday, cycling from the City Mission to the 35-acre youth centre in the forest, which has 40 log cabins, assembly halls, a kitchen and dining room block, toilets, washrooms and sports facilities.

"The bikes must be fairly good ones, as there won't be spare parts readily available, so they must be reliable," said Mr Marshall, who is married with four grown-up sons and 11 grandchildren.

"The children are 13 to 17 years old, so they must be adult bikes. We would be grateful for any offers."

Mr Marshall said poverty was a real problem in parts of Poland.

"Poland has 20 per cent unemployment and factories are going to rack and ruin. People are quite poor. Social services has no money to spend whatsoever."

Mr Marshall first became involved with Poland's plight when he was honorary superintendent of the Gaines Christian Youth Centre, in Whitbourne, which looked after Poles escaping the oppressive Communist regime during the 1970s and 1980s.

His visits beyond the Iron Curtain over the years, delivering vital medical supplies and food, have given him some frightening experiences, including being "escorted" by secret police at one communist checkpoint after they thought he was a spy.

Work on the youth centre started in 1989.

"I saw the post-communist situation and I suggested they would need an outdoor activity centre, such as the ones Christian youth organisations like the YMCA have in this country," he said.

If you have a bicycle you no longer need and would like to donate it, telephone Mr Marshall on 01886 821153.