Retired teacher from Bradford on Avon came face to face with royalty during a trip to Africa last month.

Bridget Poulsom, 62, went on the self-funded trip to Lesotho with Send a Cow, where she was able to see first hand the benefits the charity is bringing to the area.

During her stay last month she met King Letsie III, and also met farmers and their families whose lives have been transformed by the cause, which takes donations and buys livestock to help areas overcome malnutrition and poverty.

Mrs Poulsom, from Winsley, who has been a volunteer worker with the charity for 15 years, said: “My son was at a school nearby when I first became involved and they were raising money for Send a Cow, and my husband is from a farming background and he was also particularly interested in the work they were doing.

“At the time they were flying cows out to Africa, but now they source them locally.”

The charity worker, who taught at St Augustine’s School in Trowbridge before taking up her last teaching post at King Edward’s Junior School in Bath, said her husband Phillip, 63, is the current chairman of the charity.

She said: “The charity encourages the ambassadors, which is what I am, to go out on our own to visit the projects.

“We then come back and talk in schools and to groups about what we have seen and how Send a Cow is benefiting areas. We go to talk to all kinds of groups from the WI to youth groups and gardening clubs.”

Mrs Poulsom said meeting King Letsie was an amazing experience and he told her he had spent some time in Bristol in the past.

She said: “He told me ‘I am deeply grateful for your efforts for Lesotho. Convey our gratitude to others who are lending a hand’.”

Mrs Poulsom said she is keen to talk to any groups, and anyone interested can contact her on 01225 723481 or via Send a Cow on 01225 874222.