TWO Okehampton residents recently received a royal welcome and tea at the palace.

Wendy Mitchell and Tony Brooks, two British Red Cross members from Okehampton with more than 50 years of service between them, recently travelled to London to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace, hosted by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

The event was to mark the 100th anniversary of the Royal Charter.

Mrs Mitchell said: 'Despite the worst weather at the palace for 56 years, with a month's worth of rain falling in a day, there were smiles all round.

'We met volunteers coming from as far afield as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

'It was a truly memorable day and a once in a lifetime experience.'

As well as enjoying tea, guests also saw sixty all terrain vehicles from Land Rover form the Red Cross emblem in the palace quadrangle. These vehicles will now be used in off road emergencies in the UK and across the globe.