Veteran brown owl Jackie Bursnell retired on Sunday, after 40 years at the helm of the 1st Eastnor Brownies.

Over 400 people attended a party at Eastnor Castle, including many former brownies. She said she was overwhelmed by the scale of the event.

Miss Bursnell called for no gifts but donations instead to one of her favourite charities, the Mardens Children's Unit. The full amount raised is still to be announced.

But well-wishers disobeyed the Brown Owl's final order, by clubbing together and buying her a well-deserved gift, a music centre.