AN East Lancashire teacher is helping tell the world about life in the region.

And now Lynne Todd has won a top award for her work in teaching pupils in the USA about English customs.

Lynne, from Nelson, is working as a cultural ambassador for the Visiting International Faculty Programme (VIF).

She beat off more than 1,700 teachers across 55 countries to win the organisation's excellence in education prize.

She said: "I came to the USA to share my country and to learn about another way of life.

"Being a cultural ambassador is such an important part of my job, and I find it rewarding to see the children and adults benefit from the experiences I bring into the classroom.

"Some children have never left the area where they were born, and having an international teacher brings the world to them and widens their horizons."

VIF was set up in 1987 by the US Government and lets teachers from other nations work in the country for up to three years.

Teachers work as cultural ambassadors sharing experiences about life in their country to prepare students for work in the global market.

Lynne, a former teacher at Roe Lee Park Primary School, Blackburn, joined the exchange programme last year.

Since joining Gray's Creek Elementary School in the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina, she has taught youngsters about English life and events including the Gunpowder Plot and Bonfire Night as well as Remembrance Sunday.

Lynne, whose classroom is covered in flags, maps and pictures of England, incorporates tales of British life and tea and biscuits into lessons to teach pupils about different cultures.

Cal Violette, principal at Gray's Creek Elementary School, said Lynne was a great asset to the school.

She said: "She has embraced the challenge of working in a new environment with a different culture while maintaining a very positive attitude.

"She is one of the most caring and nurturing individuals you will find."