A retired Hampshire police officer has been invited to Westminster Abbey to attend the coronation of King Charles III.

Kerry Snuggs, 44, told The Daily Echo it's a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.

“I thought it was a scam at first," she said.

“I couldn’t believe it; I was really shocked because you don’t expect to receive that kind of news.”

Kerry, who lives in Gosport, worked for Hampshire Constabulary for 21 years, 17 of which as a duty officer, before suddenly retiring from the force in 2014.

Kerry said: “One day me and a colleague were called to a man who was self-harming and when we arrived, he was threatening to jump into the sea.

“In the end I had to end up rugby tackling him, but I crashed my knee straight into the concrete and I’ve struggled with it ever since.

“I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as a result of that I had to leave the police.”

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Kerry has since founded charity – Acts of Kindness.

As she puts it: “It started with finding a man’s wedding ring and returning it to him, from then on, we’ve had hundreds of volunteers.

“Over the course of the pandemic, we were able to run food banks and deliver food to those that needed it and we’ve raised thousands of pounds over the years.”

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Kerry is no stranger to having her charitable work recognised, as 2021 saw her awarded with a British Empire Medal by the Lord Lieutenant in Winchester, and she even got to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Daily Echo:

Having now been selected as one of the 2,000 people to receive a special invite to attend the King's Coronation in May, Kerry added: “It’s really humbling to be picked out of millions of people across the UK.

“It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity because there aren’t many people that have seen a coronation in their lifetime.

“I can’t get my head around it, it’s a huge privilege.

“My friends and family are really shocked.

“They keep saying to me, ‘can’t you take me with you?’ or jokingly say ‘can’t you take me in your handbag!?’

“My husband is going with me which is nice.

“Ordinarily my service dog, Burt would go with me, but he passed away seven weeks ago.

“I owe a lot to him.”