A DENTAL nurse from Fishpool has been sharing her skills with refugees from war-torn countries, currently living in camps in Greece.

Lucy Shimmin, aged 22, volunteered her time with other medical professionals at the Nea Kavala refugee camp on the border with Macedonia.

Miss Shimmin, who works for DCP Agency, answered a call by Dent Aid, which provides much needed dental care to people in the poorest parts of the world.

Miss Shimmin, said: "It was an incredible experience, it makes you so thankful for all the things we have here."

During the week Miss Shimmin spent in Greece she and the rest of the team, including dentists Richard Brookshaw and Lau Berraondo and fellow dental nurse Melanie Bentley-Moore, would treat around 30 patients a day in 35C heat.

She said: "Most people wanted check ups but some people might never have seen a dentist before.

"One patient said in the chair and said, 'I have been taking maximum strength pain killers for a year'.

"One tooth was decayed and he was taking whatever he could get his hands on, we took it out and he was saying 'you have changed my life'."

Miss Shimmin, of Grosvenor Street, said many people were very grateful for their efforts and some of the patients would cry afterwards in gratitude and give them all hugs.

Speaking about the conditions the refugees were living in she said: "There were flies everywhere, rubbish everywhere. They had clothes and stuff on the floor they slept on. The kids would play with toys they had made out of rubbish. They looked quite bored to be honest."

Despite the heat and the hard work, Miss Shimmin is keen to go back and has told Dentaid she would be happy to fly out with them again.

She said: "I think everyone needs to do something like this."

Kerry Crook, the European projects manager for Dentaid, said: "We are very grateful to Lucy and all our volunteers who have done an incredible job providing dental care in the refugee camps in Greece.

"Dentaid is committed to helping people out of oral pain which can have a terrible effect on their general health and wellbeing.

"Many of the refugees had excellent dental care in their home countries but their oral health has suffered since they were forced to leave their homes."