Explorer Martin Pickersgill, who discovered a rare species of frog and named it after his girlfriend, is off on another expedition to Milawi - where he hopes to name more frogs after family and friends.

Mr Pickersgill, who comes from Pudsey, feared he would not come out of his last expedition alive after suffering a catalogue of disasters, including contracting malaria twice.

"I'm going back to Milawi in the next few weeks to try and catch up on some of the work I didn't do last time because it was such a disastrous trip," he said.

"I'll be going up some of the mountains and lakes that are very rarely explored. Milawi is the best country to find the groups of frogs that I study. It's important to look out for slide tracks on the banks of the river where crocodiles have been, as well as watching for their eyes. It is quite scary but once I hear a strange frog's voice I would do anything to find the thing."

Mr Pickersgill, 42, named the last frog he discovered after girlfriend Christine Watson.

"If you find a species of frog that no one has published anything on, you can name it yourself," he said. "It's quite a long process and takes about two years.''

He has devoted his life to frogs and is now doing a Masters degree on the creatures.

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