AN Oxfam aid worker has returned to England after playing an important role in assessing refugees' conditions in Iran.

Chris Dyer, a logistical expert from Malvern, spent a month in the Middle East and saw for himself the situation in war-torn Afghanistan.

He set-off as part of a team of experts to work out how funds could best be spent to improve the lives of refugees.

The registered engineer for disaster relief was not sure what to expect when he went on the fact-finding mission - but he said he was pleasantly surprised by the way the Iranians were treating the refugees.

The country is currently playing host to about four million refugees and needs help to look after them while peace-keeping forces prepare Afghanistan for their return.

Mr Dyer, who spent 10 years in the Army specialising in logistics, said he expected to experience some hostility from natives in the two countries.

But he said the team was given a warm welcome wherever it went.

"We went to Iran to see what Oxfam could do in the event of a major influx of refugees, but the success of the Northern Alliance and the bombing meant this influx didn't happen," he said.

"We were pleasantly surprised by how sophisticated it was in Iran.

"Afghanistan was a completely different story. There was no infrastructure and no working roads.

"Twenty years of war have taken their toll."

The team decided that supplementary feeding programmes were needed to help women and children refugees, and extra water supplies would also benefit them.

Mr Dyer said one of the few positives to come out of the recent events was that the plight of the refugees had been brought to the attention of the outside world.

"People now realise there is a problem, and aid agencies that were previously working on low budgets now have big budgets to work with," he said.

Mr Dyer said he could return to the area at a later date to monitor the progress being made. He also said the whole project had been very satisfying.