Vital supplies will be delivered to haemophiliacs in India for the eighth time - thanks to a Bradford scheme.

Crucial medical accessories and crutches will go to the haematology unit at the Haemophilia Society of Mahar-ashtra in Pune through an award-winning link with Bradford Royal Infirmary.

The hospital trust shares its medical expertise in the field of blood diseases with the facility in India.

The latest visit will be led by Lakhbir Kaur, a liaison worker at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Mrs Kaur will take crutches and medical accessories donated by the hospital trust, as well as clothes and toys given by Bradford residents.

During her four-week stay Mrs Kaur also hopes to round-up volunteers to set up a charity shop so the unit can begin raising its own funds.

"I am looking forward to seeing the smiles on people's faces.

"Some of the things we are able to give might not seem much to us but it's a lot to them."

She said the crutches were vital for people using the centre, which is south east of Bombay in western Maharash-tra.

"There are many occasions when people are not correctly diagnosed. By the time they are, they have developed deformities because of bleeding on the joints, some of which leave people unable to walk."

Mrs Kaur said it was rewarding to see how the link had developed, with the number of patients rising from 60 to 600 in seven years.

"We have raised £20,000, while the hospital has been very generous in donating equipment and accessories. The unit in Pune has also benefited from major donations from several major drug companies," she said.

The twinning scheme began in 1996 and doctors from Bradford have visited the centre several times before.

Indian patients will travel up to 1,000 miles for treatment which involves replacing the missing clotting agent.

The scheme was named Twin Centre of 2000 by the US-based World Federation of Haemophilia, beating off competition from leading international teaching centres in Los Angeles, New York and London.

The next project is fundraising for an ambulance for the hospital, to combat the 400-mile journey many haemophiliacs face to get there.