A RANGER is preparing for an international adventure after receiving a surprise telephone call.

Rachael Oakes, 17, from Sunderland, will join 60 American girl scouts on a canoeing expedition on the American- Canadian border.

She was invited after applying for a similar canoeing trip in Minnesota last year for which she was turned down.

To fund the trip she raised £1,400 through grants from the Prince's Trust, the Sunderland Youth Enterprise Team, and held a social evening and auction.

Rachael, a member of the St Aidan's Rangers, based in Grangetown, Sunderland, said the invitation to take part came as a shock.

"I didn't even have to apply," she said.

"A girl from the London office just rang and asked me.

"I was over the moon."

After setting off from Heathrow Airport on Sunday, Rachael will spend three-and-a-half weeks in America and Canada, during which time she will visit Chicago to do some sightseeing.

She said: "I've done a few things like this before, but nothing this big."