A HEREFORDSHIRE teenager will join a prestigious Guard of Honour on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral in London later this month.

As part of her role as St John Ambulance’s Cadet of the Year for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, 15-year-old Kaitlin Jones will play a key role in the health charity’s St John’s Day celebrations, on June 22.

The event will include a service in the cathedral and family-friendly activities in nearby Paternoster Square.

A volunteer with St John’s Holy Trinity Cadets, which is open to 10 to 17-year-olds, Kaitlin was named District Cadet of the Year 2019 after winning a recent selection event.

“I feel very proud to be taking part in guard of honour and glad I am able to represent my volunteers from my unit who will be there on the day,” said the St Mary’s pupil.

Kaitlin will join around 30 fellow winners from counties across England to greet the Lord Mayor of the City of London on his arrival, before moving inside to form part of a procession during the ceremony.

They will also take part in a reception on the evening of June 21, hosted by St John Ambulance’s chairman, Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis CBE KStJ DL at the Priory Church of the Order of St John, near the charity’s headquarters in Clerkenwell, London.

St John’s Day is a key event in the charity’s calendar and up to 2,000 volunteers and staff are expected to attend.

Members of the public can find out more about St John Ambulance in Paternoster Square, adjacent to St Paul’s, with events running from 11.30am to 5pm.

There will be live first aid demonstrations of essential life-saving techniques, along with details of the charity’s history and its evolution into the familiar health organisation of the 21st century.

Displays will include heritage objects and costumes, plus antique and modern ambulances side-by-side.

For more information about the charity,

visit the St John Ambulance website here.