Scouts do their best for Japanese visitors

Families of local scouts and leaders gave the 50-strong group accommodation, and they enjoyed a reception with Lord Mayor Coun Arthur Dunworth and a trip to the Peak District.

Their three-day stay in Sheffield followed an international celebratory Jamboree at Chelmsford, Essex, which was attended by 40,000 scouts from across the world.

The visit to Sheffield was organised as part of a UK-wide scouting hospitality initiative, where overseas guests at the Jamboree were offered the chance to stay with British scout groups.

Hiromitsu Imataki, aged 16, who comes from Chiba, near Tokyo, stayed with Mosborough scout leader Brian Rhodes. He said: “Everyone here has been kind to us.”

14-year-old Yoshikazu Kurita, from Tokyo, added: I’m enjoying it here. It’s been a good opportunity for practising my English.”

Woodseats explorer scout Ben Nuttall, 18, from Killamarsh, whose family provided accommodation for Yoshikazu and another Japanese scout, said: “It was a very good experience and people managed well enough - it was only for a few days.”

The Japanese visitors were also introduced to traditional British food such as sausages and were given a farewell barbecue by the Woodseats unit.