REARING injured orangutans and wrestling man-eating crocodiles is all part of the daily routine for one intrepid Malvern volunteer.

For the last eight months, an animal sanctuary in the jungles of Malaysian Borneo has been Caroline Bellhouse's second home.

She and her partner Keith Lloyd signed up as volunteers with Way Out Experiences, which organises expeditions, adventure holidays and volunteering schemes all over the world.

Caroline, a trained veterinary nurse, who was based in Malvern after university, met Keith in the primate enclosure at London Zoo, where he worked.

The two are now putting their skills to good use at the Matang Wildlife Centre, which rehabilitates animals that have been in conflict with humans.

Among her 60 patients are bears, porcupines, crocodiles, monkeys and deer, though her favourite is Aman the orangutan.

"He's had such a rough life. He's only eighteen but he's going blind with cataracts, he's missing a finger and half his tongue was burned off by an electric fence," said Caroline. "We're trying to get enough money for an operation to save his sight."

As well as mucking out and feeding animals with other volunteers, the couple help create new animal enclosures, promote the centre to visitors and help set up new projects.

Caroline is back in Malvern for a fortnight's break after a traumatic week.

"We had to do an autopsy on a crocodile who had eaten a young child," she said. "It was awful, the boy's father was there as we pulled all that was left of his son - his underpants - from the crocodile's stomach."

Despite that, Caroline said she relished her time at the centre and plans to stay late into next year.

"So much good is done there," she said. "You know you can't help all the animals, but you can help some of them, and that's an amazing feeling."

The couple hope to set up a fundraising campaign for the centre before the end of the year.