SOME of the region's best-known names from the worlds of entertainment, science and adventure are to be given honorary degrees by the University of Plymouth.

Folk musician Seth Lakeman, polar explorer Pen Hadow and BBC camerawoman turned anti-plastic bag campaigner Rebecca Hosking will receive honorary doctorate degrees alongside thousands of students at the university's graduation ceremonies this month.

The trio will be among 17 "pioneers" receiving degrees in recognition of their work to "embrace the city's famous spirit of discovery".

Award-winning singer Mr Lakeman has often used the Devon and Cornish countryside as inspiration for his music, which saw him nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 2006. He is set to receive an honorary doctorate of music.

Mr Hadow and Ms Hosking are to receive honorary doctorates of science.

Mr Hadow achieved global recognition in 2003 when he became the first person to trek solo from Canada to the Geographic North Pole without resupply.

Meanwhile Ms Hosking succeeded in convincing the shopkeepers in her home town of Modbury to remove all plastic bags from their stores.

Her campaign proved so successful scores of other towns in the UK have contacted her for support and advice, with Saltash among the latest to join them.

She said: "I have always believed in educating people through my camera work, so it is very gratifying to be recognised by the University of Plymouth.

"I hope the film-makers of tomorrow, some of whom will be graduating this year, will find the opportunities to focus on the really important issues for our society and our planet."

Other honorary graduates, who have made a major contribution both to their fields of expertise and society as a whole, are: visual artist Marina Abramovic; IT expert Nigel Ashcroft; Tom Bloxham MBE, chairman and joint-founder of the award-winning regeneration company Urban Splash; Barbara Bond MBE, former deputy chief executive of the UK Hydrographic Office; Michael Carr, former chief science officer at BT; Juliet Davenport, founder of the Good Energy Group; Professor Sir Martin Harris CBE; Charles Howeson, the new chairman of the NHS in the South West; Howard Jones, director of human networks for the Eden Project; local railway historian Anthony Kingdom; BAFTA-winning composer Nick Ryan; Bernard Samuels, former director of the Plymouth Arts Centre; Susan Sparrow, business woman of the year for the South West; and the founder of Riverford Organic Vegetables, Guy Watson.

The graduation ceremonies will take place from September 19 to 26.

Professor Wendy Purcell, vice-chancellor of the university, said: "We are working hard to lead transformational change on an economic, social and cultural level and our graduates, as ambassadors of the university and the region, play an important role in this mission.

"By fostering an inclusive culture which embraces citizenship and scholarship, we are confident that they graduate with the skills and qualities to go out and make a difference to society."