A ROYAL seal of approval is being given to a charity started by a couple in a shed at the bottom of a garden.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, will open the new headquarters in a former helicopter hangar of the Jennyruth Workshops, on the Newby Hall estate, near Ripon on Friday.

The project provides employment in craft workshops for people with learning disabilities.

One of the project's founders, Barrie Evason, attended a reception hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

While there, he met the Duke of York's private secretary who spoke to him about his work. Friday's visit by the Countess arose from that meeting.