A BELBROUGHTON councillor has told of her delight at collecting her MBE from Buckingham Palace.

Parish councillor Janice Boswell, who represented Clent and Belbroughton on Bromsgrove District Council for 15 years, took a trip to the palace to receive her royal accolade, after being awarded the honour in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

HRH The Duke of Cambridge presented Cllr Boswell with the award, which was bestowed on her for her voluntary service and services to the community in Bromsgrove, afterwards describing the encounter as 'fantastic'.

The 74-year-old retired hairdresser added: "He was lovely, so lovely."

After complimenting the Duke on his two children and enquiring how his pregnant wife the Duchess of Cambridge was feeling - Cllr Boswell also brought smiles to audience members at the ceremony when she told him she approved of Prince Harry's actress girlfriend Meghan Markle.

She said: "He said 'that's absolutely fantastic' and that I'd made the day very enjoyable for him."

Accompanied by her husband Ian and daughters Katie and Vicki on her trip to the palace, the stalwart councillor also got to meet actor and comedian Sir Billy Connelly, who was also attending the palace to receive his Knighthood for services to entertainment.

Cllr Boswell, who previously met the Queen at a do at Buckingham Palace, raised thousands of pounds for charities including Primrose Hospice, Dogs for the Disabled, Edward's Trust in Birmingham and the Stroke Association’s Life After Stroke Centre in her former roles as chairman, vice-chairman and civic head of the district council.

But she began fundraising for good causes in her teens - selling raffle tickets for Cancer Research after starting up hairdressing salons in Langley and Oldbury.

And over the years she has raised money for and supported a host of causes including Belbroughton's Animal Sanctuary and Protection, Holy Trinity Church, and Sunfield School in Clent, and these days is an avid supporter of Bromsgrove's Life after Stroke charity, which helped her on the road to recovery after she suffered a stroke in 2014.