NURSE Cathy South is to be invested as a member of the Order of St John after 28 years of voluntary service with St John Ambulance.

Ms South, 36, of Elley Green, Neston, near Corsham, will be admitted as a serving sister and presented with the insignia by the Prior of the Order Lord Slynn of Hadley on Friday, December 1.

She has been involved with St John Ambulance since the age of eight.

"When I started as a child it was because I wanted to become a nurse and now I am," she said.

Ms South, who mainly does voluntary work with the children and young people, added: "I felt I very much wanted to give something back."

She hopes she can help other youngsters who want to go into the health profession.

Lord Slynn said the investiture ceremony honoured the volunteers' dedicated and exceptional service in the Order's charitable foundations, St John Ambulance and the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem.

The ceremony, which is held four times a year, will be staged at the historic Grand Priory Church in Clerkenwell, London. The Order of St John was founded in the 11th century and celebrated its 900th anniversary last year.