WORCESTER Carnival Queen Kirsty Evans has returned from Northern Ireland after a three-day visit to The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.

The 21-year-old was based in Omagh, where more than 500 members of the regiment are serving their final months of a two-year tour.

She was shown around the camp where the soldiers are based, as well as visiting many of them on exercise, attending an officers' dinner, a champagne breakfast, and paying a visit to a rifle range on the north coast.

The Carnival Queen was joined by Evening News reporter Samantha Jones and photographer John MacBrayne.

"It was a fantastic opportunity and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit," said Kirsty, from St John's. "I really feel as though I've learned a lot about our regiment and about the situation in Northern Ireland.

"It was quite a strange feeling for all of us when we walked along the High Street in Omagh, where the bomb went off. Buildings are still being repaired there.

"I'm really pleased I was able to go to Northern Ireland and it was definitely an experience I'll never forget."

Kirsty has just weeks left of her reign as Worcester Carnival Queen before she hands over the title during a selection evening in June.

See a full report of the visit to Northern Ireland in the Evening News, starting tomorrow.