A fleet of 30 Green Goddess fire engines are being sent from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire to Sierra Leone.

The fleet will give a boost to the Sierra Leone National Fire Force, which currently has just two engines to serve the country. The Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump fire engines were originally brought into service for the Auxiliary Fire Service to provide emergency cover by during strikes by the fire service. The green painted vehicles were built between 1953 and 1956, weigh 7.5 tonnes and have a top speed of 45mph.

The original fleet of 900 was decommissioned in 2004 after the introduction of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, which gives the government the power to instruct Fire and Rescue Authorities to make their vehicles available in the event of future industrial action.