ELIN Sandahl swapped her snowy Swedish hometown for three weeks in St Helens... and was bowled over by her warm welcome.

Elin (18) was in St Helens shadowing Cllr Suzanne Knight as part of a Youth Parliament programme.

It’s her first time in the UK, and the college student is finding it very different to her home in south east Sweden.

Speaking to the Star, Elin said the weather in Sweden is much colder, with much more snow, while St Helens is much bigger than her town of Karlstad, where many houses are built from timber.

Elin finds St Helens much cheaper than Sweden for food and alcohol, something she and another Swedish girl Josephine discovered last weekend when they had a night out.

She says it is very different to her home town, where there is only one nightclub.

The girls were due to enjoy a tour of Liverpool, a visit to the World of Glass, Dream and a trip to London.

Elin also helped count the votes in St Helens as the results of the Youth Parliament elections were announced.

“Everyone in St Helens is nice and friendly”, she said.

However she still cannot get used to people driving on the left side of the road, and continues to look the wrong way when crossing the road.

She has been an active member of her city’s youth council for the past four years, and a member of the Moderate Party youth group for a year.

“I’ve always been interested in politics, and it’s fun to see what’s happening,” she said.

Elin said she was ‘surprised’ at the similarities between how local government operates in England and Sweden, and she has learned a great deal about local politics in the UK.

However she has noticed big differences in the political structures in the two countries. There are more parties in the Swedish parliament, because of proportional representation, and there are also more young people involved in Swedish politics.

She is keen to pursue a career in politics, but wants to work in the ‘real world’ before doing so.