AN aid worker from Stratton dismayed at an airline’s refusal to help her fly a suitcase of clothes to orphans in Africa has vowed not to let the setback ruin her trip.

Plucky Brenda Johnson, 68, will fly to the continent in May to take care of disabled orphans in a remote village in Zambia.

The orphanage is crying out for children’s underwear and Brenda was planning to take as much as she possibly could.

But last month, airline Emirates told her she couldn’t take a much-needed suitcase full of underwear for the children without paying an £800 excess baggage charge.

Despite a passionate plea, and coverage in the national press, Emirates refused to back down and poor Brenda was left to make alternative plans.

Brenda said: “I am very disappointed in Emirates and sad that I was unable to have the items shipped. But it hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for going.

“I’m all geared up and ready to go. I’m as enthusiastic as I was to start with, just a bit sad I didn’t manage to get anywhere with the airline.”

Brenda will take a suitcase full of underwear for the kids, but, as a result of the weight restriction and Emirates insisting she pay an extra £800 to surpass it, she will only be able to take a seven kilo bag of luggage for herself.

“I will have to buy a couple of things when I get there,” she said. “I will find a way around it and make sure I have just enough stuff. I won’t be put off by this. The important thing is the children get what they need.”

Explaining the reason for the desperate need for underwear, Brenda said: “The ones who have no legs spend a lot of time on their bottoms and their underwear gets worn out very quickly. Last time I went I took pencils and educational things, but this time they wanted lots of underwear too.”

After hearing that Emirates would not budge, she looked into shipping options, via such companies as FedEx and DHL. But the cheapest she could find came up at more than £300. “I would much rather have that money to give to the children,” she said.

A spokesman for Emirates said: "We were surprised to hear about Ms. Johnson’s story as Emirates offers one of the industry’s most generous baggage allowance. The weight of each passenger’s baggage can have a significant impact on the overall load of the aircraft and fuel consumption.

“For such cases we normally recommend looking at other shipping solutions which are better suited for customers looking to ship large volumes."