As a police officer David Hatcher was involved in the aftermath of disasters such as the capsizing of the Zeebrugge ferry.

Now he is turning his attention to the Phillipines, as he prepares to join the aid effort to help the victims left homeless by Typhoon Haiyan.

The 64-year-old is co-ordinating Shelter Box’s response from his home in Chapman Avenue, Maidstone.

The international charity provides boxes packed with tents, as well as cooking equipment, blankets, groundsheets, waterproof equipment and water filtration devices.

They are numbered so that they can be tracked by those who sponsor them.

Mr Hatcher, who once had a regular spot on Crimewatch, also expects to visit the disaster zone later this month as part of a relief team.

He said: “People will be surviving in primitive conditions - if there are cars still standing upright they will be living in their cars.

"The big fear at the moment is the danger of another big hurricane or typhoon coming ashore.

“We work not just in the big towns but the rural areas where people are left to their devices and are in need of shelter as quickly as possible.

“The people we are seeking to help didn’t ask for this and don’t deserve this. It is a matter of life or death.”

“The people we are seeking to help didn’t ask for this and don’t deserve this. It is a matter of life or death” - David Hatcher

Mr Hatcher was a superintendent with Kent Police when the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry overturned in 1987, killing nearly 200 people, and has since travelled to countries including Haiti and Brazil in a bid to deliver lifesaving equipment.

He joined Shelter Box after seeing the charity in action in Sri Lanka, on a humanitarian mission funded by Medway Rotary Club in 2004, in the wake of the Asian Tsunami.

It’s believed 11 million people have been affected by the latest typhoon, which hit the Philippines over the weekend.

To donate to Shelter Box visit www.shelterbox.org.