A Whitehaven man who has raised thousands of pounds for charity said he was "honoured" to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee at Buckingham Palace.

Jordan Mattinson, from Whitehaven, attended the Platinum Party at the Palace on Saturday night, after being put forward by the Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria.

The 29-year-old has raised £31,000 for The Great North Air Ambulance Service with clothing collections at Whitehaven RUFC and Hensingham RLFC.

Jordan said: "I genuinely feel guilty as the work we’ve done isn’t just a solo effort - it’s been done by a lot of lads from both rugby clubs, who have made it all happen.

"I’m honoured to have been invited but without all them lads and both clubs it wouldn’t have been physically possible, so it’s all down to them too!"

Jordan and his fiancée, Paige Ormond, were among those lucky enough to attend the concert, which saw stars including Diana Ross, George Ezra, Alicia Keys and Queen perform in front of Buckingham Palace, with the Royal Family watching.

Jordan said: "We got there around 6pm and had to go through double the amount of security you go through in the airport.

"It was absolutely fantastic, right from the word go. We were lucky enough to get good spaces in the crowd near the stage and had the privilege to watch Andrea Bocelli perform Nessun Dorma about 10 feet in front of us. That’s the best thing I've ever seen in my life. It was unbelievable!

"Watching Prince William and Prince Charles talk right in front of us was unbelievable too. The full weekend was something I’ll never forget and something I’ll be proud of for the rest of my life.
"I think the only person more proud is my Grandma!"

Jordan added that he hoped to carry on fundraising for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

"We don’t just want to sit back on that and think it’s a job done because it not. We’re already in talks with the air ambulance to get another drop off day sorted in west Cumbria and hopefully build on that total and edge further towards the £100,000 goal for them."