Rowde student Craig Enderby has found himself the tribal chief of a tiny island community in the South Pacific after stopping off there during a gap year round-the-world tour.

Craig, 20, left Rowde, where he lived with his mother Diane and her partner Troy, seven months ago.

As part of his trip, he had arranged to spend two weeks on Vorovoro, an island in the Fijian group and was asked by Mark James, the founder of Tribewanted, the Internet-based organisation that supports the local community, to be chief for the month of March.

Craig said: "Everything that happens on the island is agreed and voted on by the online community.

"Basically, you pay to be a member for either one or two years and depending on what you pay you get either one, two or three weeks on the island where you live alongside a traditional Fijian family.

"There are five villages over two islands next to each other which make up Mali (the province), my island being Vorovoro.

"The chief of the two islands is called Tui Mali and he spends his time going around the islands making sure everyone is OK.

"My Fijian chief name is Tui Bitu (bamboo chief) and it was given to me by a villager for helping them weave bamboo walls for their bure or tribal meeting place.

"My responsibilities as chief of Vorovoro are to represent the islands when needed, to collect and greet new members to the island, to oversee any work done on the island as part of my project for the month.

"I have a budget for the month, for which I have to keep accounts, to pay for all materials for work being done, all wages and anything else which needs doing."

Craig will be appearing on a documentary being shown on BBC2 in September.

He said: "The whole project is about low impact tourism and sustainable living. Almost everything we use is recycled, our water supply is rainwater, most of the food we eat either comes from the sea or the garden, we use compost toilets and anything we cannot get on the island is found locally.

"The island is an absolute paradise, with its lush green hills and its surrounding crystal clear water. It is a haven for all.

"Even with all this, the thing that really makes the place special is the people. I have never met such loving, caring, genuinely nice and happy people in my life and that is going to be the hardest thing to leave."