ECO-WARRIOR Nancy Wallwork has been given the royal seal of approval at Buckingham Palace, for her work to improve the Castlefields estate.

The Woodlands Walk resident was congratulated for her community work and environmental achievements over the years, at a meeting with the Queen.

Nancy, 60, was delighted to receive the golden invitation, which saw her mixing with royalty while spending the night at the five-star Millennium hotel with her proud husband Geoff.

The glitzy ceremony follows years of hard work by Nancy to transform one of the country's most deprived housing estates into a litter-free zone.

She was nominated to attend Tuesday's reception as the regional winner of the Your Champions awards, which recognises individuals who have made a contribution to the nation over the past 12 months.

Nancy has campaigned relentlessly to create a safer and more attractive environment where children can play.

Apart from cleaning out nearby streams and woodland of unsightly rubbish, her constant appeals for help have led to thousands of pounds in Neighbourhood Renewal council grants.

While refusing to stop until every last mark of graffiti is removed from the estate, Nancy has also succeeded in getting a burst water main fixed by penning a sarcastic poem to United Utilities.

In some ways, her grit and determination has helped mask the grief felt after the sudden death of her seven-year-old son Karl, 30 years ago.

His death has inspired her to carry out voluntary work at The Park Primary school in Plantation Close where she now spends many hours teaching youngsters to read and write.

She has also campaigned to make the roads safer, and earlier this year, Nancy ensured railings were installed at a neighbouring busway to protect children.

Nancy's tireless drive to carry out her clean-up crusade still didn't falter five years ago when she found she had breast cancer.

In her latest quest, she managed to get three concrete bollards replaced by the lake at Castlefields Avenue North to prevent cars passing through, and disrupting wildlife.

Nancy enthused: 'The Queen listened to what I had to say - she was very warm.

'I'm just so grateful to have got the invitation as it was an amazing couple of days.'