Antarctic trip has few volunteers

Training will take place aboard the ice-breaker Endurance

A "chance of a lifetime" expedition to the south Atlantic is struggling to attract young adult volunteers.

The British Schools Exploring Society has 12 places for people aged 18 to 23, to go to South Georgia and the Falklands next winter on HMS Endurance.

But with a deadline for applications of 20 April, only "half a dozen" people are said to have volunteered so far.

Those who go will have to find £5,500 to pay for their passage - though the charity is offering help raising funds.

"We realise that the expedition represents a significant investment," said executive director Will Taunton-Burnet.

Mountaineering

"Without question, this is a chance of a lifetime," he said.

Expedition leader Pat Parsons said: "We are putting in our final call for volunteers to join our team of explorers and scientists who are ready to experience the Antarctic region's variety of wildlife, scenery, geology and history.

"They need to have some mountaineering experience, love being outside and working with people, as well as having a thirst for science."

The society is celebrating its 75th anniversary. It was founded by Surgeon Commander G Murray Levick, a member of Scott's final Antarctic expedition of 1910-13.