BOTH toilets in 1st Charmouth Scout Group’s newly refurbished HQ will shortly be twinned with latrines halfway around the world.

This follows the group’s cubs, scouts and explorers taking part in a sponsored Trek Cart pull that raised more than £450. The total included a donation from members of the Brit Valley Rotary Club of £130, who were keen to help.

The cart was loaded up with some 200 litres of water and pulled, by a relay of teams, three miles around the recreation ground in Barr’s Lane, a distance designed to simulate what many children in developing countries have to do each day to collect water from wells and rivers a long way from their communities.

Since it costs only £60 to twin each toilet, the remaining funds will be given to WaterAid – a charity which has visited both the scouts and explorers in recent months to talk about their work in delivering clean water around the world.

Toilet Twinning funds the work of international relief and development agency Tearfund. Donations are used to provide clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene education.

Kevin Payne, group scout leader, said: "This vital combination works together to prevent the spread of disease. Children are healthier, and able to go to school, parents are well enough to work their land and grow enough food to feed their families."

WaterAid aims to transform lives by helping some of the world’s poorest people install taps and toilets within their communities, thereby improving sanitation and hygiene, and reducing the incidence of disease.

Mr Payne added: “After WaterAid gave very inspiring presentations to both our scouts and explorers, they were very keen to support this very worthy cause. Furthermore, when our scout leader, Alex Willatt, discovered the opportunity to twin our new loos with latrines halfway around the world, this seemed like an ideal way have a permanent reminder of the need for clean water in our own HQ.

“Luckily, we had the ability to transport such a large volume of water using our recently acquired trek cart, although one of the wheels is now in need of repair, such was the weight of the water!

“The transported water did not go to waste, as some was used to water the plants at the front of our HQ and the rest was used in a series of water carrying games, designed to highlight the need to transport water carefully as it is such a precious resource.”