A MERSEYSIDE ex-pat has been helping an Egyptian charity treat animals left trapped in Tripoli zoo.

Colin Ball, 52, travelled from his home in Maadi, about three miles south of Cairo, to Tripoli Zoo.

Bootle-born Mr Ball has been working with the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends (ESFA), an animal welfare organisation, and international disaster relief charity FourPaws.

He got involved following the historic events of the Egyptian revolution earlier this year, which saw President Hosni Mubarak’s regime break down after violence erupted in the capital.

That led to a request for him to travel to neighbouring Libya after civil war broke out to unseat dictator Colonel Gaddafi.

Mr Ball said: “Since the revolution, I have worked with animal societies here in Cairo. I was then invited to go to Tripoli Zoo with FourPaws to help document the condition of animals trapped there during Libya’s revolution.

“During the fighting, 30 staff stayed at the zoo, but they have not been paid for months. There were no water supplies to the zoo and animals were suffering because Gaddafi turned off the water to Tripoli.”

Mr Ball helped treat and feed sick animals with FourPaws, as well as joining a long-term aid programme.

He said: “The animals were not as bad as we first thought, but we brought plenty of food supplies and aid plus lots of medical supplies to replace what was ruined when the electricity went off and they could not be kept refrigerated.

“Our priority was to vaccinate the big cats, which included 28 lions and tigers. We also made ice lollies from fish for the brown bears.”