A teenager has spent a fulfilling two weeks helping children at a home in West Africa.

Hannah Loryman, of Silsden, said her experience in Sierra Leone was so positive she can't wait to return.

She and her father - Steve - travelled to the St George's Children's Home, on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

They went as part of a group organised by Mission Direct, an international poverty relief charity. During their stay they sang songs and played games with the home's children. They also painted parts of the home and did some gardening in the grounds of a polio clinic.

Hannah, 16, a pupil at South Craven School, in Cross Hills, said the home received no Government funding and desperately needed the help provided by volunteers.

She said: "It was a really good experience. I met lots of people and it really opened my eyes to the poverty there. People have this idea that Sierra Leone is still war torn but it isn't anymore. Freetown is actually really friendly and the people there got to know us very quickly.

"They didn't ask for anything from us - they just wanted to say hello and shake hands.

"It was very hot and I got more than 50 mosquito bites but I want to go back in December. I do think I helped make a bit of a difference."