A reporter from The News, Portsmouth, is to travel 2,700 miles to the Gambia to see first-hand the work of a local charity.

Chris Broom, a district reporter at the paper's Fareham office, will spend ten days in the west African country - one of the smallest and poorest on the continent.

During the trip he will visit schools and hospitals, and will also spend a day at a national newspaper in the Gambia, The Observer.

He will be part of a group from the Open Hands Gambia charity, which was set up by Fareham woman Dee Symons 30 years ago and has since helped to establish bush clinics and a physiotherapy department at Gambia's hospital.

The charity also provides financial support to children in schools.

Chris, (29), told HoldtheFrontPage: "Dee first went there 30 years ago and this will be her 100th trip.

"Two years ago they became a registered charity and got in touch with the paper. Since then I've kept in touch and after a while Dee said 'why don't you come out and see for yourself?'

"I'm going to be getting my hands dirty and not just be an idle observer."

And he said of his planned visit to national newspaper The Observer: "They want to meet me and I'm quite intrigued to see how it works!"

Chris is due to fly out on October 27 and will write about his experiences for a series of special reports in The News.

He said: "I'm pretty well prepared. I think it's going to be tough going and it sounds pretty grim once you step outside the tourist areas.

"I've never been to Africa and I'm looking forward to the chance to see that part of the world and how they live, and doing something small that might make a big difference, as clichéd as that may sound."