A second car boot sale is to be held in Keighley to help children who still suffer the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Proceeds of the sale, on August 27, will pay for relief work in the Belarus region and health-improving trips by the youngsters to the UK.

The cash will also support the work of a woman who is spearheading attempts to introduce foster parenting into Belarus.

Jean Holt is a former adoption and fostering officer for North Yorkshire County Council, who wanted to continue using her skills after she left work.

She hopes to stem the tide of youngsters in Belarus who have to live in children's homes because their parents cannot afford to look after them.

"I could really make a difference to the lives of children who continue to be affected by the dreadful Chernobyl nuclear accident," says Jean.

Some 90 per cent of children in Belarus have health problems, with one in five living in areas still contaminated by radiation 14 years after the disaster.

The number of children in institutions has doubled over the past nine years, to 16,380, despite a 300,000 drop in the child population.

As a member of the Craven branch of the Chernobyl Children's Project UK, which is holding the car boot sale, Jean began working with the Belarus government early this year on new laws that allow fostering.

She travelled to Belarus in May to train psychologists, social workers and other childcare officers so they can recruit, prepare and support carers.

She says: "In the Abandoned Baby Home children were in baby walkers "anchored" round the legs of cots so they were unable to move about the floor. Higher up ,the cot leg was "bandaged" at the height of the children's head to cushion the impact when frustration got the better of him or her."

Jean realised that life for families in Belarus was exceptionally hard due to a legacy of disaster, war and spiralling inflation in recent times. She will return to Belarus in the autumn to work with the first families who are likely to take children into their families.

The car boot sale will be held in the car park of Sun Street Printers, near Aldi supermarket, at the bottom of Cavendish Street, Keighley.

The first car boot sale held by the Children's Project, on July 30, raised £180.