Wigan mum's work on mental health backed by Duchess of Cambridge

Andrea Bellamy had the chance to speak with the Kate during last week’s Royal visit to Blackpool, and they discussed the issues of mental health near the town’s seafront.

Other news: Lone Wigan pensioner's terror during early-hours home raidThe Standish mum had waited on the promenade for hours before the Royal couple arrived to secure a front row spot, and she was rewarded with a two-minute conversation with Kate about her work with Place2Be, a national children’s mental health charity of which the Duchess is a patron.

Andrea, 31, raised more than £1,500 for the charity last year with a sponsored sky dive, which she had been inspired to do after losing a loved one to suicide.

"I had always wanted to meet her,” said Andrea.

“Because of the fund-raising I’d been doing for Place2Be, I wanted the opportunity to speak to her, so we went up to Blackpool the day before and stayed over.

“I waited from about 9am to get a good spot! ”

Armed with a Place2Be T-shirt to attract the Duchess’s attention, Andrea waited patiently for her chance to thank her for her support of the charity.

And she was rewarded with a brief conversation about their respective involvement with it,

“I told her about my skydive, she said: ‘fantastic, well done! We spoke about Place2Be. She was really genuine. “I said it was really important to look at early intervention. She was chatting to me about it, and how good Place2Be is. She said we need to keep talking about mental health.”

She added: “They only had 15 minutes for the whole walk about, so I was really grateful for her taking that time to talk to us.”

Andrea also spoke highly of the Royal family’s campaigning around mental health, which she felt had raised the public’s awareness of the issue in recent years.

“They are setting such a good example and leading from the front, giving everyone the opportunity to come forward,” said Andrea.

“The work they are doing to highlight mental health problems, it really is fantastic.”

It wasn’t the first time Andrea had met a Royal, having spoken to Prince William the day before Prince Harry’s wedding last summer.

Place2Be provides emotional and therapeutic services in primary and secondary schools, building children’s resilience through talking, creative work and play.

The charity helps youngsters cope with wide-ranging and often complex social issues including bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, family breakdown, neglect and trauma.

To find out more, visit place2be.org.uk