Holsworthy and District Lions have presented a cheque for £100 to help fund a town resident’s trip to Burkina Faso — but the trip will have to wait until the political situation there is resolved.

Lydia Furse will be going to the West African country with the charity International Service. The aim of the trip is to work with disabled children and, specifically, to help integrate them back into the community through playing sport.

Lydia was due to fly to Burkina Faso last Saturday, but following a military coup there her plans have been put on hold — the Foreign Office is currently advising against all travel to the country. The situation remains unclear and tensions are high with land borders and airports temporarily closed and a curfew imposed by the military. Lydia is hoping the situation will be resolved in the coming weeks and her trip will only be postponed, rather than cancelled.

Lions Club treasurer John Cottle said that despite the military coup the club was still happy to donate the money and hoped Lydia would be able to travel to Burkina Faso in due course. He said her safety was obviously the main concern, but any charity that works with disabled children was one the Lions were happy to support. He had no doubts that International Service would put the money to good use, even if the trip to Burkina Faso falls through.