AN intrepid Royal Navy sailor from Droitwich Spa has followed in the footsteps of the great Antarctic explorers.

Jim Evans has visited Grytvikenm, South Georgia, where Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton led famous expeditions during the early 1900s.

The former Droitwich Spa High School pupil is now returning home following a six-month patrol in the South Atlantic.

Warship HMS Edinburgh spent two days at anchor off South Georgia, a remote British territory.

The barren and mountainous island lies 800 miles south-east of the Falklands.

Jim said: "We were in the Falklands for some time and I enjoyed my stay there, especially when my wife, Julie, managed to fly down and visit me.

"The scenery and wildlife in South Georgia were special. It was a trip I shall remember for a long time."

Jim, aged 24, joined the Navy in 1996 and serves as a writer in the supply department.

His responsibility is to ensure the ship is equipped with everything from baked beans to helicopter rotor blades.

One of Jim's many other jobs is helping sort out the mailbags when the ship arrives at port.

Although e-mail access has now lightened the load, the sailors are always keen to see what loved ones have popped in the post.

Julie and Jim have a two-year-old son.

Jim has served all over the world, including the Gulf.

During this tour Jim has visited the Azores, Columbia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Brazil.