PONTYPOOL’S Big Brother runner-up is embarking on a charity trip to party with people living on a Philippine garbage dump.

Dave Vaughan, 42, who was a runner-up in Big Brother 11 in 2010, will leave on October 6 for a nine-day trip to the Philippines as part of a charity programme to give aid to those living on a garbage dump in the capital Manila.

Three years ago he started the charity The New Ecstatics, which has started up two children’s homes in the area and continues to support people living on the garbage dump.

He said: “Big Brother opened a lot of doors for me, and although I have always been involved in charity work, the exposure helped me to get support for my charity work. I’ll be taking a team of 20 guys from all over the world on the trip and we will be partying with the orphans on the garbage dump, as well as visiting evacuation centres and prisons and feeding the masses.”

He explained that the Wawa Garbage Dump is inhabited by more than 1,500 families, these families and the homeless children they attract live on top of sewerage and rubbish.

The last time the project visited they fed 5,000 people and threw a massive party on the site, as well as homing some of the orphaned children in their children’s home.

This trip is extra special for the father of four from Griffithstown, who will be taking his nine year old son Isaac with him on his first trip. The project is funded by donations, with £5,500 being used to purchase food for the people and to pay for transport around the area for the volunteers. The team are also taking donated clothes, toys, costume jewellery and essentials, to be handed out.

To donate see thenewecstatics.co.uk