AN aid worker from the region will travel to central America next month to meet people whose lives have been adversely affected by the gold mining industry.

During a two-week tour of Honduras and Nicaragua, Carol Cross, of Catholic aid agency Cafod, will meet families who have been made homeless by a huge mining company and whose water supply was poisoned with cyanide and arsenic.

Mrs Cross, 49, from Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, will also visit Cafod partner-organisation, Caritas Honduras, which supports people affected by gold mining.

The mother-of-five said: "Gold is a symbol of love, wealth and power. Yet in many developing countries, it symbolises conflict, environmental destruction and toxic pollution.

"In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, in 1998, the Honduran government drew up a new mining law to attract foreign investment and help the country rebuild. But the tax breaks and concessions it gives mining companies mean the Honduran people gain little, while the impact on their environment, livelihoods and health is the cause of public outcry."

In Honduras, Mrs Cross will meet a network of small-scale farmers working to develop new markets and achieve a fairer price for their coffee and food crops.

In Nicaragua, she will meet community leaders working with the John XXIII Institute, who are becoming better-prepared to deal with hurricanes by learning rescue strategies and first aid.

"My life in Stockton could not be more different from the lives of people in Honduras and Nicaragua. I think I will find the trip very moving," she said.