A BORDON teenager was thanked by Prince William, his wife the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at The Mix’s annual volunteer celebration and Heads Together Christmas party in London.

Louisa Futcher, a 19-year-old Essex University (Colchester) student from Bordon, was named as The Mix’s “newbie” volunteer of the year 2016.

The Mix is a national charity that offers confidential support to people under 25 and is a partner of Heads Together - the campaign spearheaded by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry to end stigma and change the conversation around mental health.

At the event, the royal guests learned how volunteers like Louisa, who is autistic, enable The Mix to help more than two million young people each year through its online support services, helpline and social media.

Louisa and six other outstanding The Mix volunteers were presented with awards in recognition of their achievements this year supporting other young people. Louisa became a volunteer after using The Mix’s services since she was 14 and having struggled socially at school. Last year, she decided to train as a volunteer so that she could help other young people.

Louisa said: “I think it’s amazing what their royal highnesses are doing for young people through the Heads Together campaign.

“Their openness has got everyone talking about mental health and that’s such a good thing.”