A generous vet in Hitchin has shipped a collection of veterinary textbooks to Lithuania.

Mark Goodfellow, head of oncology at Davies Veterinary Specialists in Hertfordshire, organised the donation of textbooks to a university in Lithuania, following the lead of a colleague.

Indre Petrauske, a former colleague at Kentdale Referrals in Cumbria, initiated the first book donation last year.

She was aware of the difficulties students in her homeland faced obtaining up-to-date texts.

She said: "It might not be a surprise that they struggle a lot.

"They told me even ordering veterinary books in English is a challenging task as international shipping is a long and complex process which adds significantly to the price of already expensive textbooks."

The textbooks have been gratefully received by the university's Veterinary Student Society, boosting resources for the next generation of animal doctors.

The massive load of books, weighing in at 210kg, was collected from Mr Goodfellow's colleagues at Davies Veterinary Specialists and VPG Hitchin, a veterinary laboratory diagnostic and testing company.

The books were then shipped to the Baltic state.

Mr Goodfellow, an author of many scientific papers and book chapters, said: "Indre’s story inspired me to arrange for the donation of these veterinary textbooks which have found a new home 1,000 miles away.

"I hope they will help newly graduated veterinary professionals in Lithuania to progress their knowledge and understanding to the benefit of their patients."

Acknowledging the team effort, Mr Goodfellow, who joined Davies in 2011 and is an RCVS specialist in oncology, added: "My thanks go to colleagues at Davies and VPG Hitchin who donated all the books.

"It’s been a great team effort all round."

Davies Veterinary Specialists, a part of Linnaeus, is located near Hitchin in Hertfordshire.

Linnaeus, in turn, is a community of more than 50 primary care and 17 referral veterinary practices in the UK and Ireland, and a part of the Mars family of businesses.

For more information about the broad range of specialist-led services offered by Davies Veterinary Specialists, and the overall operations of Linnaeus, visit their respective websites at vetspecialists.co.uk and linnaeusgroup.co.uk.