Construction manufacturer JCB has donated a fleet of diggers to help with relief efforts in China following the devastating earthquake.
Six vehicles and six operators are being sent from the firm's Chinese factory in Shanghai to the affected area in the Sichuan province.
Local drivers will be trained by the JCB team to operate the loaders.
JCB chairman Anthony Bamford said: ``No one watching the scenes of devastation on television could fail to be touched by the plight of the thousands of people affected by this terrible tragedy.
``I hope in some small way that JCB's donation of backhoe loaders can help the thousands of people who have been left trapped and homeless by this earthquake.''
Staffordshire-based JCB has donated equipment during a number of natural disasters, including the Asian tsunami in 2004.
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