A journalism student from Cardiff University is to travel to Sierra Leone to see the work of journalists there first hand, after winning a travel bursary from the Welsh Livery Guild.

Iain Martin, (22), has been awarded £1,000 by the Guild, and has chosen to use the money to travel to West Africa to visit various newspapers and radio stations as they cover the country's General Election this summer.

The month-long trip follows his work covering the Welsh elections for Cardiff University's in-house newspaper, and he said he was looking forward to finding out how journalists in Sierra Leone approached elections.

Among the newspapers he plans to visit is the Standard Times in the capital, Freetown.

Iain said: "Working abroad covering a major election is something most journalists aspire to.

"Reporters in Sierra Leone face many challenges and I'd like to witness first hand and from local journalists what it's like to work in a challenging media environment."

He is also keen to see what Sierra Leone is like five years after it emerged from a decade of civil war.

He said: "It will be a new experience seeing a very different country from our own."

Iain, who has completed a postgraduate diploma in journalism studies, won the Welsh Livery Guild travel bursary in a contest among students on the course.

The Welsh Livery Guild was formed to promote education, science and the fine arts and in particular the promotion of skills and associated professional activities in Wales.

It makes a number of awards each year, and previous recipients have included former Cardiff University journalism students Gwyneth Rees, who used her bursary to work as a reporter in Malawi, and Willow Murton who travelled to Cuba.

Iain said: "I couldn't have even considered going on this trip were it not for the bursary.

"It has created an amazing opportunity for me and I hope this link continues between the Guild and the university so that more journalists can benefit."