POVERTY-STRICKEN Africans living in remote villages can now see clearly, thanks to a kind-hearted Runcorn optician.

Chris Roberts, aged 28, has just returned from his sixth overseas charity mission.

He spent two weeks testing the eyes of hundreds of people living in the Simien mountains in Ethiopia.

Mr Roberts, aged 28, of Higher Runcorn, a store director at Specsavers in Halton Lea, said: “It is incredibly rewarding to transform people’s lives and livelihoods by giving them access to eyecare.

“If it were not for Vision Aid Overseas, there would be none.

“One woman we saw had walked cearly 20 miles. She was a teacher and when we tested her eyes, we found that she was very long-sighted so couldn’t have read enough to mark her children’s work without glasses.

“Fortunately, we were able to give her a pair of glasses.”

Mr Roberts also taught university students training to become opticians at Gondor University.

He is collecting unwanted glasses for Vision Aid Overseas at Specsavers in Bridge Walk, Halton Lea.