A 14-year-old girl from Letchworth wants to stop big cats becoming extinct by 2050 – and has come up with a novel way to play her part.

Abbie Shafe, who attends Knights Templar School in Baldock, is raising money for The Big Cat Sanctuary through painting a variety of lion-themed rocks.

Abbie has hidden the rocks around Letchworth, Baldock, Weston, and Hitchin for the public to find.

The rock painting, hiding, and finding craze began in the summer of last year. If you find a rock you can take a photo and share it, and then re-hide the rock for the next lucky person to find.

“It’s hard to get people excited about big cats,” said Abbie, whose passion was ignited after watched Disney’s The Lion King at the age of three.

“I thought that, by painting rocks, it might capture a wider audience.

“I really want people to understand the seriousness of this... we may be facing a future without lions and tigers - and that is just unimaginable.”

To donate to Abbie’s cause visit justgiving.com/catastrophe.