AN intrepid student nurse is taking part in a trip to Nepal to help set up an orphanage.

Twenty-four-year-old Alice Gattley, from Hampton Lovett, is set to journey to the Himalayan country with 17 other volunteers in September as part of a three-week trip which has been organised by the charity Aidcamps International.

The nurse, who is currently studying at the University of Worcester, needs to raise at least £600 for the charity to be able to take part.

It will not be the first time Alice has taken part in such a trip. Six years ago she spent some time doing voluntary work at an orphanage in Penang, Malaysia.

During her three weeks in Nepal Alice will be decorating, painting and kitting out an extension at an orphanage there. It currently houses about 60 children, but will be able to take on an additional 40 once complete.

Alice said: "I always said I wanted to do some more voluntary work when I finished my nurse training and with the current NHS situation I haven't got a job yet.

"I'm dead excited about the trip -- I think it'll be a great experience and really interesting compared to the work I did on my trip to Malaysia."

She added: "I'm hoping it will be quite rewarding because there's quite a clear object to the project - we have to go in there and make this orphanage suitable for the children to live in."