SCOUT volunteer Kim Spoors from Stockton was prepared for the cold weather but surprised to find herself sitting next to Kate, HRH Duchess of Cambridge, on the shores of Lake Windermere.

Miss Spoors, 18, from Norton, Stockton, was one of only 24 other adult Scouting volunteers from across the UK taking part in a training event in the snowy Lake District.

“The Duchess of Cambridge joined in some of the activities and then 32 cub scouts arrived and we had to teach them what we had learnt,” said Miss Spoors who joined the Scout Movement at the age of 10 and became a young leader when she was 15. “I got to speak to her as I was sitting next to her at the table, she was really nice and got stuck in with the rest of us. She said she found it difficult to remember names and asked if I found it hard too.

“Coming here has been brilliant as she has shown that even someone like her, with her busy workload, can become a flexible volunteer,” added the former Egglescliffe School pupil who will be studing a veterinary degree at Bristol University from September.

“There is a really long waiting list with tens of thousands of young people wanting to join the Scouts so the more volunteers the better.”