A CONVOY of ambulances embarked on a 4,000-mile journey to war-torn Syria.

Volunteers from Bolton joined the convoy of 20 vehicles on Friday night.

It left Oakley Avenue in Great Lever to join others leaving the North West to make the journey.

Volunteer Kasim Jameel, from Farnworth, organised the convoy along with eight other volunteers from Bolton and the UK Arab Society.

The convoy was transporting life-saving medical equipment to a hospital in Idlib, in north-western Syria. Items sent included defibrillators, stethoscopes and oxygen concentrate.

The group were sent on their way by supporters.

Volunteers were remembering British surgeon Abbas Khan, who died in a Syrian prison days before he was due to be freed.

Dr Khan was arrested by Syrian government forces while working as an orthopaedic surgeon in the Aleppo region in 2012.

He was held for almost a year before he died earlier this month. The group had a signs saying “RIP Abbas Khan” and one saying “Syria is calling we will answer”.

In March this year, volunteers from Bolton travelled to Syria in ex-NHS vehicles.