A young girl travelled thousands of miles and went back to her family's roots for a television documentary.

Maria Alvar, nine, of Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, spent a week in Bolivia, her parents' place of origin.

The trip was part of a Channel 5 documentary series called Rooted, which was screened on December 1.

While in Bolivia, Maria explored the culture, society and religion and found out what life would have been like if she had grown up there.

Maria said: "I enjoyed going because it was fun to see a different place and see how things are for children growing up there. Children have to cook and clean and help more.

I feel really lucky living here."

Maria, who travelled with her mum Sonia, stayed in Oruro, where her mother's aunt lives, and Cochabamba.

She said: "The scariest part of the trip was the journey to Oruro when we nearly got stuck in the snow in the mountains.

"I also went to the market to see my auntie. I helped out in her shop, serving the customers and weighing the things they wanted to buy. And at the end I got paid, which was excellent.

"I went to visit a school. It was really different because it was quite cold and a bit poor. They do not have enough money to make classrooms a bit better like over here. The tables and chairs were really uncomfortable and they did not have many books."

Maria is a pupil at St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Worthing.