Explorer Scouts Jacob Newport and Isobel Stainer from Weymouth South Scout Group have returned from an adventure in America.

The pair were among 4,000 other UK participants selected to attend the World Scout Jamboree, a skills and adventure festival held at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia.

Held every four years, the theme was ‘Unlock a New World’. It was opened by UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls.

The jamboree is a culmination of two years' fundraising by the participants and their families in addition to the unit leaders organising camps and preparing Scouts to attend the event.

Jacob and Isobel were two of five Scouts selected from the Weymouth and Portland area to attend and will be arranging a special event to share some of their West Virginia jamboree stories and experiences of visiting New York, Washington and Canada with those that supported them.

Jacob said: “I’m extremely grateful to have been given this opportunity and all those who have supported me to achieve my £3,600 fundraising goal.

"It was a fantastic adventure and one I want to share with Scouts at home to benefit from my experiences.”

Set on a massive 14,000 acre site hosted by Boy Scouts of America, Scouts Canada and Asociación de Scouts de México, the UK contingent were joined by a further 40,000 scouts from 150 nations.

The Scouting movement has come a long way from Robert Baden-Powell’s 1907 debut on Brownsea Island in Poole.

Activities on offer at the jamboree included climbing Mt. Jack, river rafting, shooting sports, climbing, scuba diving, zip lines and stadium shows.

Isobel said: “I enjoyed meeting Scouts from around the world. Our camp was next to one from New Zealand but we would meet many people of different cultures each day."

A further 750 British adults trained as part of the International Service Team (IST) in their own time, took time off work and paid thousands to go along and make sure everyone had a great time; one of which was Jenny Garland, an Explorer Leader, and Sam Breaks, a former Explorer Scout.

Both attended the 2015 Jamboree in Japan as leader and participant.

Jenny and Sam, also from Weymouth South Group, took some time out of their busy IST responsibilities to visit Jacob and Isobel at their jamboree basecamp.