Ahead of her Time

Rebecca, 12, is on US magazine's 1st Girls of Year list

- BY AINE FOX

A UK pupil who designed a solar-powered backpack with an electric blanket inside for homeless people is on Time magazine's first ever Girls of the Year list.

Rebecca Young was just 11 when she came up with the device after becoming concerned about people sleeping on the streets during freezing Scottish winters.

Her invention charges a battery during the day to heat the blanket at night, and 30 have been distributed to a homeless shelter, with more to come.