A TEAM of 14 specialist police officers has left South Gloucestershire for Thailand on a grim mission to help identify tourists who perished in the South Asian tsunami.

Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Steve Pilkington was at the Road Policing Unit in Almondsbury last week to wish the officers - all members of the underwater search team and support group - luck with their vital work on the island of Phuket.

The specially trained officers have all volunteered to spend two weeks in Asia and will be relieving a Metropolitan police team which has been in the area for three weeks helping to identify victims.

Mr Pilkington said the work would be very demanding and traumatic and all their colleagues wished them well.

"It will be deeply challenging work but these people are highly trained, dedicated professional police officers," he said.

"They have been fully briefed and spoken to about what they might face when they are in Asia."

He said the force prepared for major disasters as part of its contingency planning arrangements and regularly held major emergency exercises.

"Now, all the training and preparation that goes into those exercises - and they often involve tremendous support from local communities - can be put into practice," said Mr Pilkington.

"I'd delighted that we have a vast number of volunteers who have been prepared to do this."

All necessary action has been taken to protect the officers. Team members have been inoculated and have been issued with suitable protective equipment.

A mortunary team is also on stand-by to go to London when the bodies of victims are brought back to the UK and family liaison officers in the region are also working with families whose relatives have been involved in the disaster.

Officers are providing support to the families and helping them liase with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The constabulary has also set up its own appeal to raise money for the victims of the tsunami and to help in the massive clean-up operation. Staff have so far donated more than £10,000.