THE St John Ambulance will have a royal visitor next week to lend to support to their new Manchester headquarters plans.

Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex is the Grand President of the charity and next Thursday will help boost the fund raising campaign to build a new headquarters in Stockport.

The Countess will meet volunteers and local civic leaders at the current headquarters in Egerton Road, Fallowfield, as well as potential sponsors for the new headquarters.

as well as view plans for the new build. She will later be joined at a buffet lunch by her husband, His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn.

St John Ambulance is in desperate need of a new headquarters to house the administrative staff that support the charity's volunteers from the North West including Bolton, and provide a base for all the youth activities and training services carried out by St John Ambulance in the area.

The charity has 43,000 members who give over five million voluntary hours and treat more than 200,000 casualties every year.