A TEENAGE explorer mauled to death by a bear during an expedition to the Arctic Circle is to have a memorial garden built in his name in Scotland.

The garden of contemplation will open next month at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow in honour of 17-year-old Horatio Chapple.

His mother said he had dreamt of pursuing a career in medicine and had been troubled while doing work experience in a hospital that patients did not have a quiet place to relax and think.

The teenager was on an expedition to the Norwegian island of Svalbard with the British Schools Exploring Society in August 2011 when he was attacked by a polar bear as he slept in his tent. He later died from his injuries.

His mother, Olivia, said the 'Horatio Garden' - the second to be built in the UK, and the first in Scotland - was a fitting tribute to the aspiring doctor.

She said: "Horatio loved the outdoors and he was troubled by the thought of spinal injuries patients - many of whom had led adventurous lives like his before their catastrophic accidents - being trapped indoors in a hospital for months on end.

"Patients told him they wanted a really beautiful, accessible garden they could use as an escape, somewhere they could be alone if they wanted away from the busy ward.

"He was really excited about this idea of a garden because he felt it was a tangible thing he could do to help people."

The £500,000 Horatio's Garden in Scotland has been designed and created by leading gardener and Chelsea Flower Show presenter, James Alexander-Sinclair.

It includes six gardens linked by level pathways lined by scented flowers, a fountain at wheelchair height, and "pods" where patients and their families can shelter from the rain.