A BOOK written by Poole explorer and filmmaker Stewart McPherson will soon be available in every UK secondary school.

Stewart, of Hamworthy-based Redfern Natural History, recently completed a television documentary series, aired on BBC4 earlier this year, which focused on the wildlife, culture and heritage of all of the UK Overseas Territories.

Now 5,350 copies of his book, Britain's Treasure Islands, which shares its name with the TV series, have been shipped to British schools.

This was made possible by a donation from businessman, philanthropist and major Tory donor Lord Michael Ashcroft.

Billionaire Lord Ashcroft, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has close ties to the Turks & Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory.

Stewart, who made international headlines in 2009 after discovering a new species of carnivorous plant, said: "The UK Overseas Territories are Britain's most remote outposts.

"Scattered across all the Seven Seas, they cover an area seven times the size of the British Isles.

"They range from the Equator to the South Pole, from lush tropical atolls in coral seas to active volcanoes and windswept Antarctic islands."

The adventurer took three years to complete his epic 70,000km journey to shoot the documentary series. As well as the books a free online film resource has also been created for teachers to use in class.

Stewart said: "The 350,000 British subjects of the Territories have fascinating histories and cultures.

"The Territories include the most remote inhabited islands on Earth, and several of the islands are steeped in famous history such as the Mutiny on the Bounty, which led to Pitcairn, and the imprisonment of Napoleon Bonaparte on Saint Helena.

"The books and videos are totally free for the schools. I really hope these resources might help inspire young minds."

In 2009 the Daily Echo reported how Stewart discovered giant pitcher plants in a remote mountain region in the central Philippines.

The carnivorous species - which was named Nepenthes attenboroughii after TV naturalist David Attenborough - were so large it was reported that they could catch rats in their pouches, as well as insects, dissolving them with enzymes in similar fashion to the action of Venus fly traps.

Initially no rodents were discovered in the plants, and it was later suggested any captured would have been by accident more than design.

However, during a subsequent expedition in 2012, the remains of a dead shrew were discovered in one of the plants. In the intervening weeks scientists were able to document the rate of digestion, which eventually left just skeletal remains.