Schoolboy on turtles mission

The number of turtles around Greece has fallen rapidly

A schoolboy is to present the president of the European Parliament with a petition calling for greater protection for endangered Mediterranean sea turtles.

Adam Johnson, 12, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, was chosen after his father answered an appeal on BBC Radio York.

The radio station worked jointly with the Scarborough Sea Life Centre to find a child ambassador to take the petition to Brussels.

Adam will hand the 100,000 signatures from visitors to Sea Life Centres in six European countries to Mrs Nicole Fontaine on Wednesday.

The Scarborough centre teamed up with the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece to provide care for two injured loggerhead sea turtles.

Pleasure boats often harm adult turtles

Lefteris had lost one front and one rear flipper, probably as a result collisions with boat propellers.

Antiopi had a severe head wound, thought to have been deliberately inflicted by a fisherman.

Though now legally protected, the loggerheads' nesting beaches are still under threat from tourism on the Greek islands of Zakynthos, Crete and Cepaholinia.

Sea Life manager Mike Scarborough said: "Over the past 20 years, the number of turtle nests in Greece and its islands has declined alarmingly.

Adam's father Ian said his son was a keen water sports enthusiast with an interest in marine conservation.

"It's a tremendously exciting opportunity for him.

"It's one thing to see the parliament in action, but to be part of something going through parliament's another matter."