THE adventures of a globe-trotting little teddy bear are being followed by North-east schoolchildren.

Salty the teddy was sent to the crew of HMS Newcastle by pupils from Marine Park First School, in Whitley Bay.

The crew embarked on a seven-month tour of duty and took Salty with them across the globe.

Among his adventures have been travelling through the Panama Canal and visiting the Great Wall of China.

In the US he went to Pearl Harbor, he took a traditional Japanese bath on a visit to Tokyo, went to Hawaii, the jungles of Belize, and has featured in a Chinese newspaper.

Sailors have taken pictures of the locations and posted them on the Internet, so that the pupils could follow their furry friend.

When HMS Newcastle visited the city last year, there was an appeal for schools to sign up to the schools link-up project.

Marine Park got involved and insisted that one of their mascots, complete with red jumper and school logo, went on board.

School secretary Gill Ramsay said: "The guys on HMS Newcastle have really made an effort, and the website has been fantastic for the kids. They couldn't wait to see his next adventure."

HMS Newcastle has finished its voyage and Salty will soon be back at school with crew members to tell all about his adventures