A STUDENT is planning to swap somewhere that's chilly by nature for somewhere that's Chile by name -- and do her bit for charity to boot!

Vanessa Nuttall (pictured), from Great Harwood, hopes to escape from Blighty to Chile for a holiday with a difference.

Instead of sunning herself on a beach or drinking in a bar, Newcastle University student Vanessa plans to help build a healthcare centre, repair a vital bridge, save part of a rainforest and then maybe do a bit of sightseeing!

Vanessa is raising £3,000 to help fund her trip, which has been organised by the Raleigh Foundation She said: "It is something I really want to do because I won't just be swanning off around the world, I will actually be doing something which will benefit people in years to come. I want to travel, but not just for the sake of it.."

Each year the Raleigh Foundation takes students like 22-year-old Vanessa to poorer, far-flung countries like Chile, where they do vital work to create facilities which are taken for granted in Britain. Participants on previous expeditions to Chile have built health care and community centres and repaired a vital bridge between two communities.

Vanessa, a former Norden High School and Blackburn College student, added: "I think I would get a real buzz from working on projects like that. There is time for sight-seeing, but that is only at the end when we have worked on a conservation project to save a rainforest!"