THREE A-level students were so shocked by the poverty they witnessed on a trip to Belarus that they raised money for a group from the former Soviet republic to holiday in England.

Mark Tallon, Gavin Arnold and Doug Tailby, all aged 18, visited Belarus last year for a youth conference and stayed with families in the capital, Minsk. Belarus suffered as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

The three students were so moved by what they saw that the past year has been spent on a fundraising drive to bring five students and a teacher to England.

The students, who had never been out of Eastern Europe, flew into England for a nine-day trip.

They are staying with Mark and his friends, who have taken them around the sights of the North-East.

Mark, who has just left Prior Pursglove college in Guisborough, said: "They keep saying how much different everything is here to Eastern Europe. It is a real eye-opener."

Mark, Gavin and Doug, raised a total of £3,500 to bring the Belarussians to England, through pub quizzes, raffles, packing bags in supermarkets and even a Boxing Day dip in the North Sea. They also organised all the visas and flight tickets.