THE Princess Royal spent twice as long as she had planned on a visit to officially launch a Hampshire occupational therapy (OT) unit.

Wearing a green tweed jacket and knee-high boots, the princess met staff and directors of OT Direct in Glen Road, Swanwick.

She was taken on a tour and shown how the centre handles up to 16,000 calls a year.

While chatting and swapping jokes with call centre advisers she said she was "impressed" by the large volume of calls passing through OT Direct.

Service adviser Yasmin Smith said: "I was nervous before the meeting but as soon as she started talking she put us at ease. She wanted to know everything about the service and the type of calls we have to deal with."

Anne Wood, an occupational therapist assistant, said: "She is incredibly knowledgeable in the field and so the visit was very beneficial for us."

OT Direct operates through Hampshire social services. It has helped reduce health waiting lists by a third.