An anniversary dinner celebrating the 90th birthday of Letchworth Garden City Rotary Club welcomed the service organisation’s national president as well as guests from the community - and a former Bond girl.

Actress and presenter Jenny Hanley, who as well as her 007 role was known to millions from TV children’s show Magpie, spoke of her life in the spotlight in an entertaining after-dinner speech.

National Rotary President Peter King was guest of honour at the Broadway Hotel event, and congratulated the club, which was among the first group of clubs to be established in Britain shortly after the end of the First World War.

Inspired by their motto Service Before Self, Rotary harnesses the professional expertise of members to raise funds for local charities and community organisations as well as funding major humanitarian relief projects throughout the world.

Other speakers referred to the organisations’s proud track record of successful local projects, including the annual Garden City Walk and free dictionaries for school pupils moving on to secondary school, and worldwide initiatives such as supporting the ShelterBox programme for disaster relief and taking a leading role in the campaign to eradicate polio.

Among 120 guests were club presidents from several other Rotary clubs in North Herts as well as civic and community leaders.