A website monitoring a Devon man's mercy mission to the Middle East has been attacked by hackers.

Surgeon David Halpin, 62, is currently at sea, on his way to deliver humanitarian aid - including 55 tonnes of food and medical supplies - to refugees in Gaza.

But supporters have been dismayed to discover that a website set up to give information about the trip has been defaced by hackers.

It now bears the message "Israel is the land of the Jewish People... The sooner you realise this the sooner there will be peace".

There is no axe to grind or hidden agenda Lindy Hingley

As a result, the team have changed the website's address.

Lindy Hingley, whose husband John is on board the boat, said: "I am absolutely horrified. I can't believe that anyone could do this.

"They have misconstrued the whole point of the mission which is totally non-political and is purely to help people in need."

And she appealed to the hackers to leave the new site alone.

David Halpin set off last Saturday

"If anyone knows about this, please accept this mission as a compassionate gesture in the best sense.

"There is no axe to grind or hidden agenda here, so please give them all the support they need."

The mercy mission is costing Mr Halpin �95,000.

With him are 24-year-old Stuart Lawley, from Dorset, who works for the Centre for Adolescent Rehabilitation, 55-year-old musician John Maughan, from Boscastle in Cornwall and 51-year-old Brixham trawler skipper John Hingley.

The vessel is heading for Gibraltar, and will then go on to the Israeli port of Ashdod, near the northern border of the Gaza Strip.

From there, the aid will be delivered by road.