A ROYAL Navy Met officer from Weaverham has deployed to Sierra Leone as part of the UK military operation to help combat the spread of Ebola.

Paul Railton, Chief Petty Officer (Meteorology and Oceanography), is on aviation support ship RFA Argus currently sailing to Sierra Leone.

Argus is one element of the Department for International Development (DfID) led response to the Ebola outbreak with teams of medics, engineers and specialists deploying to the country.

Paul heads up the RFA Argus Met team – ensuring the ship’s command structure has the most accurate and up to date weather forecasts as the ship heads towards the stormy equator.

The 39-year-old said: “This is a job I love. When I started it was all paper and charts and now it’s mostly digital but it still serves the same function – to provide a safe forecast for the ship.

“Sierra Leone is particularly stormy and wet at this time of the year so it’s going to be a busy time for my team as we are providing information that will impact on the ship, the helicopters and boats going ashore, as well as weather forecasts for the assets already shoreside.”

The father of three knew he wanted to join the Royal Navy as a youngster at Weaverham High School but actually wanted to be a naval engineer.

When he found out that engineers had an 18 month wait he went straight into the Met branch – which was recruiting – and now, 21 years, later he heads up the team on RFA Argus.

“When I said I was off to Sierra Leone people asked whether I was concerned about Ebola and the answer was ‘no’,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of briefings and the risk is so small it’s not even on my radar, unlike the weather which is tropical with a lot of rain. It’s going to be a busy deployment with a lot of weather to keep us going.”

The UK military deployment to Sierra Leone is part of a wider humanitarian aid program led by DFID and involving Save the Children and the Sierra Leonean Government and military.

RFA Argus is due to arrive in Sierra Leone next week.