Prince Charles on board eco train

Prince Charles is the first member of the Royal Family to travel on the train since its conversion to run on fuel processed from waste vegetable oil.

Charles was visiting Scarborough's St Catherine's Hospice and a Georgian museum refurbishment on Friday.

Crowds of children waving Union flags greeted the prince when he arrived in the seaside town.

'Lord Lucan' quip

The train runs on biodiesel produced by a Gloucestershire company and it was the first journey in a four-month trial to assess the suitability of bio-fuel for mainline rail services.

After leaving the train station, the prince was met by community dignitaries and Sir Jimmy Savile.

Sir Jimmy, who has known the prince for 42 years, said: "In case he had forgotten who I was, I introduced myself as Lord Lucan and because he's got a terrific sense of humour, that was him finished for the next five minutes."

As the prince left St Catherine's Hospice, he congratulated staff and said: "Well done for all the marvellous things you do, keep it going."

During his visit, the prince offered his sympathy to farmers across the country following the latest foot-and-mouth outbreak.

He described the situation as "a combination of horror and huge blows" for farmers.

The prince was due to visit two farms in North Yorkshire on Friday but cancelled them because of the latest outbreak.

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