Lumley becomes ShelterBox patron

ShelterBox said Joanna Lumley's support would really help the charity

Actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley is to become a patron of Cornwall-based disaster relief charity ShelterBox.

Ms Lumley said she was keen to be associated with the charity, which she "really loves and admires", she said in the charity's latest newsletter.

ShelterBox founder Tom Henderson said he was really pleased as her support would help the charity reach a goal of helping 500,000 people a year by 2013.

The charity provides boxes containing tents, blankets and survival equipment.

ShelterBox, which is based in Helston, has already provided emergency relief to people hit by natural disasters in more than 50 countries since it was founded in 2000 by the Helston-Lizard Rotary Club.

It sends boxes which contain blankets, a 10-person tent, water purification and cooking equipment, basic tools, a stove and other equipment. The boxes cost £490 each.

Ms Lumley, who was appointed an OBE in 1995, has recently been in the public eye for her part in a successful campaign to secure settlement rights for Gurkhas in the UK.