FORMER international rugby captain Brian Currin has teamed up with a Harrogate travel company to help people discover the hidden delights of Africa.

Mr Currin, who led Zimbabwe’s squad to the 1991 Rugby World Cup, now runs Africa In Style and has joined forces with Langford Travel Services of Harrogate.

Mr Currin, who grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia, said: “I was extremely fortunate with my sporting and work background to travel extensively and tour much of Africa and decided I wanted to do that again.

“With my African ancestry dating back to the 1652 Dutch settlers, I have immense pride in my country and the continent and want to help more people discover it.”

Mr Currin moved to the UK nearly nine years ago with his wife, Camilla, to escape the increasing hostility and unrest surrounding white farmers in Zimbabwe and the subsequent demise of the economy.

He set up a home repairs business before deciding to follow his dream of a bespoke travel service and contacted Michael Langford to see if there was any mutual interest.

Mr Langford said: “When Brian got in touch I was immediately interested in his rugby background and, as we talked, it became clear that his immense knowledge about the whole of Africa was something that could really add to our ethos of offering our clients the very highest quality service and creating outstanding trips for all budgets.”