Basic and pillion riding, motorbike maintenance and defensive driving were taught to the team of 16 employed by War Child to help young victims of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The charity's safety training programme includes a four-day driving package at Swains Driver Training Centre in Harpur Hill.

Owner Karen Swains said: "We are giving them all the basics they will need to survive on treacherous unpaved roads.

"Where they are going the infrastructure is so poor that motorbikes are the only way to get around."

Institutional fundraiser for War Child, Leila Billing said: "Money is so scarce charities don't tend to prioritise the safety of staff but War Child does offer comprehensive survival training.

"A lot of the countries in which we work, people employed by non-governmental organisations are now prime targets."

War Child works in conflict zones all over the world including southern Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Uganda.

Although a fragile peace holds in the Congo, the country is still reeling from the three million deaths wrought by a conflict involving the widespread use of child-combatants.

Leila said: "We work with child soldiers and street children, many of whom have lost their families because they have been killed, or they were abandoned because they were child soldiers."

The aid workers' training programme was organised by the specialist High Peak-based firm, Medical and Safety Consultants (MASC) run by Joe Fifield.

Joe said: "For the past six years we have tailored specific training packages for different charities' needs.

"We cover first aid, firearms and explosives, driving and ambush situations."

Joe served in the army for 12 years then worked with the Mines Advisory Group for five years. He used his experience on the ground to set up a security firm offering comprehensive survival training.

•War Child was founded in 1993 in response to the conflict raging in the former Yugoslavia. It initially raised money through entertainment events and public appeals to bring immediate material aid to children of all ages and ethnic backgrounds.

For more information go to www.warchild.org.uk