TRANSYLVANIA spawned fictional horrors such as Dracula and vampires, but a Worcester osteopath has glimpsed for herself the grim reality of modern Romania.

Michelle Davies leapt at the chance to join her friend Jane Dale doing voluntary work in the former Communist country - and was appalled by the conditions she found.

Both were so moved by the poverty they encountered that, on their return to England, they pledged to raise £4,000 to buy a tractor for a children's orphanage where they had stayed.

The pair visited Arad last October, sleeping at an orphanage called Esperanza, and seeing at first-hand the tough conditions the children had to survive in.

They launched Operation Hope to raise funds for a tractor after describing themselves as "emotionally traumatised" by their journey.

Twenty-six-year-old Michelle, from Bromyard, has organised a charity car boot sale later in the month.

"They hope that, with the use of a tractor, they can tend more land and break away from the vicious cycle of poverty by selling their produce," she said.

"Away from the orphanage we spent the rest of the time with the street children and where they live is awful. The children chose sewers and the railway station to sleep in and faced a future full of begging, violence and sexual abuse."

The pair aim to return later in the year to buy the tractor for the orphanage, which ekes out a subsistence living off the land.

"We didn't see anything but poverty," she added.

Her experiences in Romania had a surprising impact when she returned home.

"I couldn't forget what I'd seen and found it difficult to get back into normal life. I couldn't go to restaurants without considering all the waste. Over there they only earn about £50 a month."

The car boot sale is on Sunday, May 20, at RT Animal Feeds car park in Bromyard, from 9am to noon.

Spaces cost £5 per boot and for more information call Michelle on 01885 483430.