England cricket captain Joe Root leads Sri Lanka minefield visit

England captain Joe Root led three of his team-mates on a visit to see the work done by a team clearing unexploded landmines in Sri Lanka.

Root took Jonny Bairstow, Keaton Jennings and Olly Stone to visit a former battlefield where humanitarian organisation Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is helping a local community by clearing unexploded landmines - a legacy from the civil war which ended in 2009.

The site in Periyamadu, in the north west of the country, is nearly 1.3 million square metres - 59 times the size of Lord's - and is being made safe to rehouse families and build schools.

Since the end of the conflict in 2009, MAG has made over 35 million square metres of land safe, cleared over 42,000 mines and 14,800 other unexploded bombs in Sri Lanka.

"It's been brilliant to come here and see the great work MAG is doing," Root said after Monday's visit.

"With the mines being so divisive in terms of separating communities and doing so much damage, and seeing all that being turned around here, it has been really impressive

"It puts things massively in perspective, making you realise the real danger some people are in when they go to work in the morning. We're very fortunate not to be in that position."

The UK government has been funding demining in Sri Lanka through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), with nearly £2.5m of support since 2016.

James Dauris, the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka said: "It's hard for most people to imagine what it's like when, every time you go for a walk or see your children playing with their friends, you worry that someone will get killed or badly injured.

"Yet this is what it has been like for years for all those people in Sri Lanka who live in areas where there are still landmines in the ground a decade after fighting ended.

"Everyone in the UK can be proud of the contribution we are making towards Sri Lanka becoming landmine-free again.

“MAG’s goal is to support Sri Lanka to become landmine free by 2020, enabling communities to rebuild their lives and livelihoods, free from fear.”

"This brave and painstaking work makes it safe for people to return to their homes and their fields, and allows communities to rebuild. It allows young people to come together and to play cricket without fear.

"I'm delighted that the visit by members of the England Cricket Team will raise awareness of the vital work that UK charities, including MAG and the Halo Trust, are doing in Sri Lanka with the support of the UK Government."