CLAIRE BARRON had a very special reason for being away from her desk on Thursday - she was having lunch with the Queen.

Her invitation to dine with the Royals was a reward for the valuable volunteer work she has carried out for the National Children's Homes charity (NCH).

Ms Barron, from Durham, was one of dozens of volunteers selected to attend the glittering lunch, which was held at Buckingham Palace on Thursday and marked the highlight of the Year of the Volunteer.

Ms Barron, who works for Vodaphone, has been a volunteer independent visitor for NCH in the North-East for more than 14 months.

The NCH scheme trains volunteers to befriend and support young people aged between six and 21, who are in care and have little or no contact with their parents or families.

Ms Barron meets regularly with one of the young people and said: "We just like hanging out together, sometimes we go to the cinema or we go to a Chinese restaurant.

"I've found it a tremendous learning experience and much more challenging than I expected.

"The whole experience is a real eye-opener and extremely rewarding.''

Moira Luccock, deputy director of Children's Services at NCH said of Ms Barron: "Not only does she have an excellent relationship with the young person she visits, she also arranged a charity football match for her work colleagues at Vodaphone to raise funds for the NCH project."

And it was Claire's dedication which won her the coveted invitation to the Palace where she found herself rubbing shoulders with stars from Coronation Street and other television programmes as well as other members of the royal family including Princess Alexandra and Sophie Countess of Wessex.

"It was an absolutely fantastic experience and one I will never forget,'' said Claire.