Being surrounded by exploding bombs in Northern Afghanistan is not the most conducive of conditions in which to bake bread but Wickford baker Kevin Barke made it work for him.

Mr Barke, 47, who runs the Barke Craft Bakery in Wickford's Ladygate Centre, has just returned from two months in Herat, Northern Afghanistan, where he worked 14 hour days setting up a bakery to feed the country's refugees.

He was part of a group of 13 volunteers from the War Child charity who flew to the war torn country to provide relief for 23,000 refugees.

"We had one week to get the production up to 23,000 loaves a day and later it went up to 26,000. Each refugee had one loaf for the day - that was all they got to eat. It made me feel a bit guilty.

"There were about 40 people working in the bakery in three shifts. It was a real team effort. They wouldn't let me do the night shift because of the 10pm to 6am curfew so I started just after 6am and worked until 8pm most nights.

"We made one million loaves. I brought back the millionth loaf with me and sent it to War Child."

While he was busily baking bread to feed thousands of hungry people bombs were being dropped around Mr Barke.

"It was always so busy that we didn't have time to worry about things. When I was first out there I didn't take it seriously but I did after a few things happened, like a bomb landing near the bakery."

He added: "At first I wondered whether we could do it. I have never been so cold in my life as I was there."

Mr Barke registered with War Child several years ago but this was his first expedition with the charity.

"You never speak to the women because of their religion but the men are really friendly and the kids are always laughing. I made some really good friends there.

"I would love to go back."

Despite enjoying his Afghanistan experience, Mr Barke was glad to get home to Wickford and his family - wife Linda and children Darrell and Sonja, who work with him at the bakery, and youngest son Kevin who is at university.

Published Monday, March 25, 2002