A BUDDING scientist is hoping for help from people from her home county as she plans a field expedition off the coast of Africa later this year.

Ellie Harrison is newly-qualified as a marine biologist after completing a degree at the University of Liverpool.

She has already been offered a post as a frontier research assistant with a conservation project in Mada- gascar and Tanzania.

However, before she goes, she has to raise £5,000 to cover her costs.

Ellie, whose family come from Middleton Tyas, near Richmond, has already taken a temporary job with Customs and Excise, and is planning a fundraising coast-to-coast tandem cycle ride later this year.

But the former Bedale School pupil is also hoping for help from local firms and individuals to be sure she can join the project for 20 weeks in January next year.

"This is a fantastic opportunity," she said. "It will give me the chance to apply the knowledge I have gained on my degree course to the benefit of the natural environment and local communities of some of the poorest countries in Africa.

"The field experience will also be a huge benefit to my future career, which I hope will allow me to complete more research into coastal marine environments.''

Anyone able to help can telephone (07971) 811078.