Princess Royal opens support hub for children in Gosport

The Princess Royal opened the Gosport Community Hub, which will support more than 400 service children

The Princess Royal has opened a community organisation that will support children and their families.

Princess Anne visited Gosport Community Hub to open the venue that will offer outreach programmes and activities.

The hub will help support families in Gosport and Fareham, including 435 children whose parents are in the armed services.

At the event, one boy who has a parent in the forces, said the hub offered "a good sense of community".

"Sometimes it's quite a struggle when they are on deployment and away for such long periods of time," he told the BBC.

"It's just nice to have a bit of support and it's a good sense of community as well."

The hub will offer community outreach programmes and activities for families in Gosport and Fareham

Another girl added: "It's difficult because you don't have that extra support from your other parent."

The hub at Brune Park Community School, in Gosport, is accessible to all families across the collaboration of schools in the Multi Academy Trust in the area.

The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) has provided £400,000 of funding which has been used for the construction of the building and ensured there are dedicated staff to work with service children and families.