The 16-strong group, from Carr Hill High School in Kirkham, are going it alone, without a teacher, and travelling across the world in order to build a new irrigation and sanitation system.

The young people want to help fellow youngsters in the impoverished third world nation and help build a better community in order to learn themselves and aid their own personal development.

They are putting on a number of fundraising events and appealing for help from local businesses to make their dream a reality.

Will Ramsey, 16, from Newton, said: “Not only do I want to help other people I want to help myself.

“We want to appreciate the problems other people face and try to help improve their lives by getting stuck in.

“We have a lot of work to do to raise the money and we will be working very hard ourselves to do that but we are also appealing to local companies to see the good in our project and help out.”

The group, which includes six young men and ten young women, have already held a curry night, a race night, put a team into the St George’s Day Festival Parade, held cake sales and raffles and have written to some local companies.

They are also recycling old clothes, CDs and other goods to raise cash in an environmentally friendly way.

Further events, including a sportsman’s dinner, a tea party, a black tie ball, a beauty fair and even a triathlon are also in the offing.

Bethany McSpirit, 17, from Lytham, said: “It’s really hard work to raise the money but we’re all very motivated to carry it out.

“If everyone puts in the effort, and with a bit of help from the local community, we’re confident we can meet our fundraising target.”

Paul Wallace, Deputy Head Teacher, said: “The 16 of them are a great set of young people and I would urge companies and the community to get involved.”

Mark Menzies MP, who has offered to support the group, added: “I have chosen this project as one of my social action projects for the year and I will be writing to local businesses to urge them to take part.”

For more information on social action projects visit www.world-challenge.co.uk

To get involved in fundraising or to donate, call Janice on 07759 142785 or email chjunglechallenges@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/chjunglechallenges

And fortunately, the candidate I was knocking on doors for, Cllr Trevor Hart in Lea and Cottam – a terrific role model in his community – was successful.

But despite my feet being tired it didn’t stop me covering a great deal of ground this week beginning, of course, with attending the State Opening of Parliament.

We saw a number of positive measures for the people of Fylde in the Queen’s speech; for example, many of you know that I care deeply about road safety, so I welcome the Government’s proposal to create a specific offence to drive under the influence of drugs, which is, sadly, a growing problem in our country.

Perhaps most important this week though was a meeting with senior officers at Fylde Council. I sat down with them to discuss everything from council tax to cockle picking.

Top of my agenda though was the big event of this year which will really put the borough in the spotlight – The Open golf tournament at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

It’s not every year that one of the four major’s comes to your doorstep and this is an incredible opportunity for the borough.

It is also a reminder, of course, of the world class facility that the club provides in the heart of the area which is truly a credit to the club’s members, their ground staff and their committee.

The club is a major asset for the borough which we should not take for granted.

I was delighted to see that there is a great deal of focus continuing to go into preparations with promotion of the event going very smoothly.

The council deserve great credit for the support they are giving to The Open and I’m sure our local tourism industry, which is so vital to our economy, will be feeling the benefit.

Also in the last week or so, the Government published new guidance on traveller sites which is extremely important to many people in Fylde.

With an ugly situation still rumbling on in Hardhorn up at the border with Wyre it was vital the Localism Act established tougher laws on retrospective planning applications.

That has now been done and the guidance sets down more clearly details of how to combat these problems in the future.

I look forward to working with councils and residents groups if they have any queries over the new policies.

No one wants to see such a situation arise again and I’m pleased that the Government are developing strategies to counter the problem.

Now in its sixth year, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge and its supporters, including entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, are calling on North West inventors to step up to the competition and become Britain’s 2012 sustainable hero.

The contest is hoping to find great talent across Britain – and more importantly here in the North West – who will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through their innovative sustainable business ideas.

Mark Menzies said the competition is a breath of fresh air for sustainable entrepreneurs on the search for funding.

He said: “I know there are a huge number of creative and green-thinking entrepreneurs out there in the North West. I would encourage anyone from the area with an invention to take a look at the competition and what it could do to help get their idea to market.”

The contest, which runs until the end of July, will see entrepreneurs from all over the world  submit business plans for products or services which are able to directly reduce CO2 emissions. Entries must be at the stage where they can be brought to market within two years. The winning concept will be awarded £400,000 (EUR 500,000) and invaluable support and guidance from leading industry experts to bring their product to the market.

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to step up to save the planet and log on to www.greenchallenge.info for more information and to download the application form, which must be submitted before 31 July 2012.

Lynn Griffiths, founder of the charity Carbon Monoxide Awareness, is calling for manufacturers of barbecue grills to put warning notices about the danger of carbon monoxide on them to stop the public from taking them into tents, caravan, campervan, or their homes. 

The warning follows several recent tragedies in which campers have lost their lives after taking lit barbecues into tents or caravans for warmth.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is difficult to detect because it is colourless and has no taste or smell.

People often don’t realise that they are being overcome by fumes until it is too late. 

 Carbon Monoxide Awareness President Lynn Griffiths said: “Nobody should ever take a barbecue indoors.

“To do so is courting disaster, but the public don’t seem to be aware of this and sadly there have been a number of tragedies and several near misses this year.”

Exposure to the gas reduces the blood’s capacity to carry oxygen, thereby causing the vital organs to fail.

Early symptoms are similar to flu, but these worsen as more of the gas is breathed in and Carbon monoxide concentrations in the blood increase.

Anyone who suspects that they may be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning should turn off all appliances, go outside and seek help from a qualified healthcare professional.

 General advice

• A lit or smouldering barbecue should never be taken into a tent, caravan or campervan.
• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) powered appliances should be serviced by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is qualified to work with LPG.
• Solid fuel appliances should be serviced by a solid fuel HETAS registered engineer.
• Oil fuelled appliances should be serviced by an OFTEC registered engineer.
• For their personal safety, holiday-makers should buy an audible carbon monoxide alarm that meets British or European Standards (EN 50291).

And it was no different as Parliament resumed this week with a visit from Her Majesty.

As stated in the Queen’s message to both Houses at the end of the last session of parliament, the economy remains the main focus with cutting the budget deficit remaining the Government’s vital, number one priority.

But as one legislative session ends and another begins I wanted to take the opportunity to recap a few of the measures that have been achieved so far, and what they mean to Fylde.

As well as a banking levy, there are also large infrastructure projects to try and help grow the economy.

These include the £1.4 billion regional growth fund, which Fylde firms are targeting; enterprise zones like the one that I secured at Warton; and over £30 billion for transport projects such as the electrification of the Blackpool to Preston railway line.

Crucially for Lancashire, the Government is securing the rolling out of superfast broadband across the country.  Lancashire, of course, after hard work from a lot of local people, will be the first county in the country to have full superfast broadband coverage.

There are scores of other measures too that will help nationally, like a national council tax freeze, a cut in the main rate of Corporation Tax and the funding of 250,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years.

We have also introduced a cap on benefits at £26,000 whilst cutting tax for 24 million working people.  I welcome this for the hard-working people of Fylde.  The ‘Right to Buy’ has also been extended, whilst the Government has frozen Council Tax, vetoed a new EU Treaty, and kept fuel duty 10p lower than it would have been under the last Government.

Notably, considering our local Weeton army barracks, The Armed Forces Act enshrines the Military Covenant into law, formalising the Government’s obligation to our brave servicemen and women.

There were also provisions in the Localism Act which made rules much tougher on illegal traveller’s sites which could be hugely helpful in the future bearing in mind the ongoing legal battle at Fairfield Road near Singleton.

We have achieved a great deal but we also recognise that there is so much more to do. With renewed energy and determination, I look forward to tackling this country’s, and Fylde’s, most pressing challenges in the next session of Parliament.

Mark Menzies, MP for Fylde, is one of a group of Parliamentarians meeting with Foreign Office Minister, Jeremy Browne MP, soon to discuss delays in toxicology reports in India.

The problems, he said, have caused great distress to families and resulted in inquests being unresolved for as long as six years.

It follows a case of a Fylde man who died in Goa, India in November 2009. His family are still awaiting a toxicology report around two and a half years on.

The meeting follows a visit to India by Hexham MP, Guy Opperman, who has experienced a similar case.

Mr Menzies said: “This is an important issue.

“When tragedies happen overseas the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and their consular staff do their upmost to try to support the families and ensure they are able to get the information they need.

“However, there is only so much they can do and the processes of each different country need to take their course.

“My understanding is that some people such as Mrs Schofield have been awaiting the results of toxicology tests for as much as two years.

“That’s a very long time to wait for closure.

“I hope this meeting, which Guy deserves great credit for arranging, will help to move things forward and persuade the Indian Government to look at the issue again with a view to speeding up the process.”

So it was a great pleasure to see David Cameron visit BAE Systems at Warton last week, becoming the first Prime Minister to do so since Margaret Thatcher.

The visit was both a tremendous opportunity to show all that Fylde has to offer while also stressing the need for support for our vital aerospace industry in the North West.

And I think we did just that with the apprentices at Warton, people I know the PM was extremely keen to meet, making a special clock to showcase their skills and having a cup of tea with him in the Typhoon production hangar.

Senior executives, of course, managed to have a chat too but I have absolutely no doubt that it is the level of interest and enthusiasm from the young staff which will have most impressed the Prime Minister.

Those young men and women, after all, are the future of British aerospace manufacturing expertise, something that it is vital we continue to develop.

Exports, of course, remain a crucially important target for BAE Systems and the companies in their supply chain.

They are very important to help keep Fylde jobs secure and I know that efforts to secure deals around the globe remain a key focus.

The Prime Minister himself was out in Malaysia last week and I know that during his visits the subject of the Warton-built Typhoon will have been very much on his mind alongside the important diplomatic work he was carrying out.

His visit to Warton, therefore, was very well timed and, make no mistake, was a major endorsement for the workforce at the site.

The visit dates back to my first ever question to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons chamber in which I invited him to visit Fylde to see firsthand the expertise of our workforce.

He is a man of his word and I was delighted he came along.

Also this week we had one of the biggest events of our Fylde calendar, the annual St George’s Day Festival.

It was, again, a tremendous honour to be able to take part by walking in the parade and attending the raising of the St George’s Day flag.

Despite the rain, everyone seemed to be having a good time and full credit must go to everyone who took part and particularly the organisers who put on such a terrific array of events.

Mr Cameron was at BAE Systems Warton as part of a series of visits around the country supporting apprenticeship schemes.

It followed an invitation from Fylde MP Mark Menzies to visit BAE Warton, the area’s biggest employer, to see firsthand the work taking place.

The PM met with senior BAE Systems personnel, but also had time for a talk with a number of people on the apprenticeship scheme and a chat with local journalists.

It follows the PM’s announcement during National Apprenticeship Week delivering a new round of Government funding to help deliver the world class skills firms need to drive growth.

Mark Menzies, MP for Fylde, welcomed the Prime Minister’s visit.

He said: “The Prime Minister has been true to his word and taken up my invitation to come and see the world class site at Warton.

“In visiting the site, he has shown his commitment to our defense sector, in a way that his Labour predecessors had not.

“I was especially impressed by his extensive knowledge of the issues surrounding BAE systems, notably with regard to export deals for Typhoon.

“I support the PM’s message that technical excellence is as highly valued as academic prowess, and I believe the apprentices at BAE Systems, some of whom he met, represent the very best that Britain has to offer.”

For more information visit:

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/local/cameron-s-fylde-visit-1-4471915

http://www.itv.com/news/granada/story/2012-04-20/demand-for-defence-jobs/

http://www.adsadvance.co.uk/david-cameron-praises-bae-systems-apprentices.html

http://www.baesystems.com/article/BAES_046315/david-cameron-visits-bae-systems-warton

Firstly, I have been working closely with councillors, local people and businesses to try to help tackle their concerns about Network Rail’s electrification of our local railways.

The works, which are vital to improve the service, are causing concern, particularly in Treales, because of the need for future bridge alterations which could take several months and cause disruption for local businesses and residents.

Suggestions were put forward to mitigate the effects but, so far, none of them have been accepted.

But a solution has to be found and I will now be raising this issue with Ministers at the Department of Transport as well as looking to meet again with Network Rail.

There’s also The Victoria Hotel which, as regular Express readers will know, is under threat of closure and demolition.

I met with a group of “Save the Vic” campaigners who want to explore a “Community Right to Buy” bid for the hotel, enabled by the new Localism Act, and I’m now seeking further advice on that on their behalf.

I have tabled parliamentary questions and raised this directly with the Minister, Greg Clark, and have been assured of a swift response.

Finally, like many people, I have been studying the independent scientific report on the earth tremors which were linked to shale gas exploration in Fylde.

This study looks into geological and technical issues which confirms that hydraulic fracturing caused two very small tremors felt in and around the Poulton area.

The report, by a panel of independent scientific experts, indicates that they believe that gas exploration should be allowed to continue, on the strict proviso that a number of technical changes, aimed at mitigating any risk of further tremors, are employed.  I believe that this same principle, of robust, independent scientific study, must be applied to all areas of shale gas extraction, delivering a gold standard of regulation, before any final conclusions are drawn.

This report was not, therefore, a green light for drilling to resume. A public consultation is now open and it is very important that interested parties respond.

I have, throughout this process, been representing those views and questions to agencies involved, Cuadrilla Resources, as well as Ministers and the Secretary of State for Energy, to ensure that the people of Fylde’s opinions are heard.

It is vital that MPs make themselves available to get constituent’s views across to the highest level of Government.

I’m in a fortunate position to be able to do so, often in person, and I will continue to fight for Fylde’s interests.

Mr Menzies attended Bowel Cancer UK’s recent event in The Houses of Parliament last week, hosted by John Baron MP.

The event marked the charity’s 25th Anniversary as well as the launch of its new report: “2025 Challenge: Saving and Improving Lives.”

Over 100 guests were in attendance at the event including a host of Parliamentarians and supporters of Bowel Cancer UK.

Speeches highlighting the need to raise awareness of this disease were given by John Baron MP, Bowel Cancer UK Patient Ambassador, Barbara Moss, Bowel Cancer UK CEO Deborah Alsina and ITV news presenter and Bowel Cancer UK Ambassador Charlene White.

Deborah Alsina, CEO, Bowel Cancer UK said: “We want to dramatically improve outcomes for people affected by bowel cancer, minimising the disease’s impact and helping people lead longer, healthier and happier lives. We have a duty to save more lives and the proposals outlined in this report should be the Government’s absolute minimum goal. We look forward to working with the Government, NHS and other charities to help save more lives from the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.”

Mr Menzies added: “I was not aware the bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer and I feel it is vital that we raise awareness. I was delighted to support Bowel Cancer UK’s event in Parliament and I look forward to working with them more in the future to continue to help combat the problem and save lives.”

Bowel cancer is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer, and the overall five-year survival rate of those diagnosed is just over 50% 1. 

However, in its new report, Bowel Cancer UK states that the Government could cut deaths from bowel cancer by 60% by 2025 if it followed its recommendations. 

Bowel Cancer UK’s ambition is also for an additional 2,500 people with bowel cancer per year living for at least five years after diagnosis by 2025.