THREE Llanelli youngsters will be relying on the generosity of strangers when they attempt to hitchhike from Swansea to Croatia.

Bridget Porter, of Five Roads, Jamie Stedman, 21, of Dafen, and Craig Lewis, 19, of Llwynhendy, will travel nearly 1,000 miles through eight countries over six days, to raise funds for Link Community Development.

The one rule is that the group can only make their way to the final destination by convincing drivers to help out by giving them lifts along the way.

Bridget, a former Ysgol y Strade student, said: "I can't wait to go. Everyone says I should be nervous, which I might be closer to the time, but I just think it's really exciting.

"Some of my friends were doing it, and I decided it was a worthwhile cause to support, so I got involved too.

"It seems like a fun way to raise money for charity.

"I have never done anything like this before. I used to volunteer at Prince Philip Hospital's Radio BGM, but I've never done anything this extreme."

The group will leave from Swansea University on April 1, and from there they will have to patiently thumb lifts to get them across Europe.

Different

"It takes around five or six days on average," Bridget said. "But we will probably get lost on the way.

"We will go through the UK, France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia — the only places I've been to before are Spain and France, so this will be completely different."

The Croatia Hitch, as the challenge is called, has been organised by Link Community Development, which works with education authorities in Africa to enhance opportunities for youngsters.

"They are aiming to improve education in African countries," Bridget said.

"It's a really worthwhile cause, and it's a fun thing to do too.

"Hopefully we will raise quite a bit through sponsorship before we leave."

Bridget added that she was looking forward to undertaking the mission, although she admitted her choice of degree subject — Spanish — might have been more beneficial on a different route.

"We could either have gone to Morocco, which would have taken us through Spain, or we could have gone to Croatia," she said.

"If we'd chosen Morocco my Spanish might have helped us, but we wanted to go through more countries along the way, which is why we decided on this route."

To sponsor the group, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving. com/BridgetPorter