FOUR scouts will join an expedition to Madagascar next year if they can each raise £3,000 to do it.

Charlotte Green, Delsie Urch, George Timbrell and Thomas Bachrach are the only four scouts going from Dorset.

The four-week adventure was open to all young people aged 16-25 from the south west.

It was initiated by Gloucestershire Scouts who wanted youngsters to develop international friendships, build cross-cultural understanding and explore a diverse country.

At 18 Charlotte Green is the oldest and the others aged 15 are all members of the Jurassic explorer scouts, who meet in Bridport on Tuesday nights.

Thomas’s dad Peter Bachrach said it will be hard work for the youngsters to raise the money they need but they had already started fundraising.

Mr Bachrach said it was an amazing opportunity for all of them.

He said: “Scouting is a social thing and it gives them skills and opportunities they would not get from school.

“It gives them self confidence and they learn how to relate to all sorts of people and they learn about the world.”

Charlotte has chosen to take part in the Explorer Belt expedition which involves a hike of 100 miles, helping communities along the way with development projects.

The three younger scouts will be staying in one place to help local projects.

A spokesman organising the trip said: “This expedition is no holiday, it will be demanding and challenging. It will take them out of their comfort zone and put them in places that feel alien.

“They will need to cope with the unexpected in unfamiliar environments and enjoy the experience of living without all the creature comforts that we all take for granted in the UK.”

Top biodiversity

Madagascar is an island nation that lies in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Mozambique (southern Africa). It is the fourth largest island in the world and has tropical rainforests, dry plains, mountains and beaches. It is one of the world’s premier biodiversity hotspots with more than 80 per cent of the flora and fauna of Madagascar found no where else on earth.