BOLTON'S new RSPCA inspector Caroline Hall has swapped work protecting endangered turtles in Cyprus for life in Bolton.

"I don't think I'll be dealing with that many turtles in Bolton," says Caroline, aged 25, "but I hope to help as many animals as possible."

Caroline, originally from Stirling, said she saw her role as one of "helping animals and educating people".

She said: "My patch covers Bolton, Westhoughton, Horwich and Blackrod and I aim to get out and about as much as possible."

Caroline, who graduated in zoology at Glasgow University, did her RSPCA field training in Birmingham where she helped retrieve a 15ft-long Burmese python from a canal.

"I think the snake was alive when it had been dumped in the water," she said.

"Sadly, it was dead when we pulled it out. A case of someone buying an exotic pet then discovering it had grown too big to manage. This is the kind of thing I want to educate people about."

Before she joined the RSPCA -- she was one of just 24 successful applicants out of 3,000 -- Caroline worked on a turtle conservation project in Cyprus.

She helped protect the endangered loggerhead and green turtles. She said: "It was an amazing experience and one which I firmly believe can only add to what I can bring to the RSPCA.

"People tend to think the RSPCA is all about cats and dogs but it isn't. We work for all animals -- from domestic to wild."

FACTFILE

There are 36 inspectors and 17 animal collection officers working for the RSPCA in the north west

Bolton is part of the RSPCA's Manchester North inspectorate group which also includes Wigan, Bury, Rochdale and Oldham. The team is led by chief inspector Brett Witchalls.

The 2002 annual figures for the Manchester North group showed that 70 convictions were secured in the area and 16 written cautions were issued.

Nearly 2,200 cruelty complaints were investigated, 245 animals rescued and 2,456 animals collected.