HOMELESSNESS champion Shabnam Sabir brought her mum with her to Buckingham Palace when she received royal recognition for her charity work this week.

The British Empire Medal (BEM) was awarded to Ms Sabir in the New Year Honours list for her services to homeless and young people in East Oxford.

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As part of the honour she was invited to a garden party at the palace on Wednesday, where guests mingled with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

The mother-of-four said: “It was perfect weather and we got to go through the grand entrance to Buckingham Palace and see inside. It was slightly disappointing the Queen wasn't there but Prince Charles and Camilla spent about an hour talking with guests."

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Ms Sabir said she knew from the start she wanted her mum to be with her on the day, saying: “I had family members queuing up to come but I knew pretty much instantly that I wanted to take my mum. She is such a big fan of the royal family that it was nice for as a daughter to be able to do something like this for her.”

Ms Sabir began delivering leftover food from friends and family to homeless people in Oxford in 2015, which led to her setting up the Oxford Homeless Project.

Read our profile with Shabnam Sabir

She rallied a team of volunteers together and created the charity, which now provides a fortnightly lunch on Mondays at the Asian Cultural Centre, off Manzil Way in East Oxford.

Three years on, the project feeds at least 50 homeless people, with around a dozen volunteers helping out at each meal.

In addition to a full time job at EMBS Community College, Ms Sabir is also the organiser of the Oxford Eid Extravaganza and volunteers for Oxfordshire Refugee Solidarity.