The lives of two premature babies were saved only days after incubators were delivered during a Rotarian mercy mission to Ukraine.

The equipment was given to a children's hospital in the city of Uzhgorod and put to use when twin boys were born, weighing little more than bags of sugar.

Five lorry-loads of medical supplies, aid and goods costing £10,000 were delivered to the city by nine members of the Rotary District 1040, which covers much of Yorkshire, and two wives of members from the organisation's Inner Wheel groups.

Last year, the Rotary District started a project to renovate an orphanage and provide showers and toilets as replacements for rudimentary facilities that consisted of a hole in the ground.

David Goldthorpe, of Birstall Luddites Rotary Club, who organised the convoy with his wife Yvonne, said incubators had only been delivered to the convoy the day before it left for Ukraine.

"They almost missed the trip but a lot of people pulled out all the stops to make sure they got there," said Mr Goldthorpe, a 53-year-old company director.

"It was absolutely heart-warming when we found out that they had been used to save lives so quickly. The first patients are twin brothers. Their surname is Gotra, but they have no names yet and their weights were only 1,500 and 1,530 grammes." In a message accompanying the photographs, Andriy Bahanych, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Uzhgorod, praised the efforts.

"The incubators from England have saved their lives. Thank you very much for that," he said.

Mr Goldthorpe said the orphanage project was making significant progress.

"The children at the orphanage remembered us all and the hole in the ground used for a toilet has now gone," he said.

"This is in the process of being replaced by flush toilets and showers and already the rooms have been tiled and plumbed and await the balance of a Rotary grant to be able to complete them.

"A further donation of $1,500 was necessary to supply a new boiler and pump. This money was donated by the convoy before its departure. We are hopefully looking towards the end of August for total completion."

The Rotary group was also given a reception by the Mayor of Uzhgorod which was broadcast by Ukrainian TV.

Another convoy will take place next year after a year of fundraising, said Mr Goldthorpe, who organised the project after witnessing the conditions in Ukraine on a visit three years ago.