A TEENAGER from North Yorkshire is one of the 5,000 Scouts from the UK joining 40,000 others taking part in the World Scout Jamboree in the US.

Eilis Fitzgerald, from Osmotherley, near Northallerton, is meeting 45,000 Scouts from nearly every country in the world at the skills and adventure festival in West Virginia.

The 16-year-old has been trying out new water activities and making lots of new friends from all over the world.

The World Scout Jamboree is the culmination of two years of work for the leaders, which has involved camps and team building events preparing the young people for living on a humid site in West Virginia amongst Scouts from nearly every country in the world.

Eilis said: “The white water rafting was epic and it was completely new to me. I’ve made loads of new friends and for the last two years I’ve been learning loads of new skills to make me more confident.”

The event was opened by UK Chief Scout Bear Grylls, who said: “World Scout Jamborees only happen every four years and tens of thousands of Scouts attend each one. They are incredible festivals of peace, friendship and adventure. Young people will make friends for life with people from over 150 countries, experience different food, language and culture while learning new skills. It will be the journey of a lifetime.

“The 2019 Jamboree, jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, is set to be one of the biggest and most exciting yet. The theme is ‘Unlock a new world’ – focusing especially on how we can create a sustainable world together.”