A NELSON plumber is preparing for a busman’s holiday to help repair a home for disabled orphans in Ukraine.

Father-of-two Eddie Padgett, 49, from Barley, is jetting out to Kiev next month, armed with pipework and toilet bowls, to maintain bathrooms he constructed for the International Aid Trust.

The holiday home at Mykai, in southern Ukraine, attracts orphans from across the country, including victims of the Chernobyl disaster.

But before Eddie and colleagues from the Preston-based trust became involved, the home did not have facilities to cater for disabled youngsters.

He is taking a host of supplies donated by Burnley-based plumbers merchants James Hargreaves Ltd.

Eddie, a director of plumbing and heating engineers Arthur Padgett’s Ltd, said: “The aim is to get through as much repair work as possible during the two weeks.

“The plumbing system over there is in a shocking state so anything we can do to improve it is of major benefit.

The trip will be Eddie’s fifth to the former Soviet republic, while his brother Colin ‘minds the shop’ back home.

Gordon Rothwell, managing director at James Hargreaves, said: “When we heard about the amazing work Eddie and the International Aid Trust do, we were keen to help them in any way we could.”