ROCK legend Robert Plant took time out from his world tour to get behind the controls of a mechanical digger to start work to build a new Scout camp.

The Led Zeppelin frontman took centre stage and ceremonially dug the first trench of the project at the Rhydd Covert site, near Bewdley, where construction begins on Monday.

The original Rhydd Covert Scout activity centre was torched by vandals last year.

The Worcester News' sister paper the Kidderminster Shuttle and Kidderminster and District Scout Council launched a fund-raising campaign to re-build it, which has raised £142,000.

Midlands-born Plant, aged 57, who is currently in the middle of a global tour promoting his latest album The Mighty Rearranger, was keen to lend a hand because he believed the project was "very important".

He said: "When I was introduced to this scheme the thing that impressed me was the fact that it was a real community effort.

"It is really good to see local traders, organisations and individuals getting involved in something like this. It will give kids a chance to experience the environment. The location really is absolutely amazing. Doing things like this is just my way of giving something back."

The star, whose home is at nearby Shatterford, is keen to support the Wyre Forest community whenever he can and is patron of the Kidderminster College-based record label, MAS - Mighty Atom Smasher.

The star, whose 73-date world tour will end in Wolverhampton on Tuesday, December 13, said he still felt a buzz when he played live.

He said: "It is as good as ever. The profile and venues of the gigs are smaller now. But playing live in front of an audience is still just as rewarding."

On the eve of helping Operation Covert, Plant had been delighted to be told that Led Zeppelin had won the prestigious Polar Music Prize, which is likened to the Nobel Prize.

The pioneering band, whose hits include Stairway to Heaven and A Whole Lotta Love, will be presented with the award in May by the King of Sweden.