Rumble in the jungle

Tara Francis, of Woodham Close, is getting ready to jet off to the jungles of Borneo to raise cash for the Worcester-based Acorn's Children's Hospice.

However, despite tireless fundraising, Tara still needs to generate £500 to meet the minimum of £3,000 required to take part in the trek, later this month.

Now the 26-year-old, a teaching assistant at Holly Hill Primary School in Frankley, is looking to generous businesses and residents to help her raise the last bit of cash.

"I have already raised most of the money, through private sponsorship and bucket collections, I have even started an after-school games club where I work to boost the funds," she said.

Originally, Tara and a group of 40 others, were to trek down the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China but due to the Sars virus, plans were changed.

"We were supposed to be the last people to walk the dam before it was flooded and when I found we could not it was disappointing - it would have been a fantastic thing to tell the grandchildren," said Tara.

"But going to Borneo is still a trip of a lifetime and, more importantly, we are raising money and the profile of a very important and local charity."

Tara's trip will include trekking through humid rainforests, camping in the great outdoors or lodging in long houses.

If you can help Tara, then you are invited to call her on 0121 453 9467 or 07818641571.