YORK optometrist Ruth Perrott is travelling to Africa with spectacles galore to help improve the sight of 1,500 Africans.

The glasses have been donated by York residents and have been sorted, cleaned and measured by members of Rotary York Ainsty.

Approximately 1,500 pairs of spectacles packed in suitcases will be making the trip with Ruth to the Ziguinchor region of south west Senegal.

There, Ruth and fellow optometrist Ann Morgan, from Cockermouth, will host a series of all-day clinics.

They will be assisted by the Diatta family, of Acomb, York, who have family connections in the area.

The trip is in support of the York One World Linking Association, which sponsors development and links between communities in the York area and other parts of the world.