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

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

She has now been offered the opportunity to work as a frontier research assistant with a conservation project in Madagascar and Tanzania.

However, before she is able to take up the place she has to raise £5,000 to cover her costs - and is looking for help from sponsors in hitting the target.

Ms Harrison, whose family come from Middleton Tyas, has already taken a temporary job with Customs and Excise to raise some of the cash and is also planning a fund-raising coast-to-coast tandem cycle ride later this year.

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

Ms Harrison said: "This is a fantastic opportunity; 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 who would like to offer support to Ms Harrison is asked to call 07971 811078.