Couple swap home for hut

Stella Marsden's charity teaches chimps to live in the wild again

A British couple are giving up their £750,000 home to live in a hut in Africa and dedicate their lives to saving chimpanzees.

Stella and David Marsden have put their 16th Century thatched cottage in Gotherington, Gloucestershire, on the market and are moving to Gambia.

They will live in a hut on stilts with no toilet and work for the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust (CRT), a conservation charity which Mrs Marsden set up in 1969.

The 52-year-old, who grew up in Africa, and her 59-year-old husband will be leaving their grown-up sons behind in England.

No mod cons

Mrs Marsden said: "We live in a beautiful house here and we've been really happy. I do enjoy my hot shower and everything.

"The hut in Gambia will be quite basic. As far as mod cons go, there's nothing really - no toilet, no electricity.

"But the time is right. My two sons, John and Daniel, are basically grown up and there's so much work to do out in Gambia."

She added: "I have lived in Gambia before - I know the climate and the people and I know how to get things done, so it seems we would be more useful out there than just growing old in England."

'Family shocked'

Mrs Marsden and husband will be expanding the work of the CRT, which cares for 64 chimpanzees living on three islands in the River Gambia National Park.

Many of the chimps were taken from poachers or beaches in Spain where they were photographed with tourists.

"We will be monitoring and rehabilitating the chimps and hopefully set up a visitor facility to help fund the project," she said.

"My family was a bit shocked that we were moving at first but they've got used to it now. They know we have a lot of work to do."