A FESTIVAL in Worcester to celebrate Worcester's resilience in the face of flooding promises fun and frolics for all the family but also a slice from a sad moment in the history of the Royal family.

SOS Fest in Pitchcroft, Worcester will feature competitions, vintage police vehicles, a helicopter flyover and life-saving demonstrations between 11am and 3pm this Saturday.

Youngsters can dress as their favourite '999 hero' and there will be the chance to win prizes, meet police dogs and chat with the police firearms team and see some of the state-of-the-art police kit and vehicles.

A Range Rover which escorted the body of Princess Diana after her funeral will feature at a festival this weekend. It was part of the police demonstration fleet known as Pegasus before it was sold to the Metropolitan Police in March 1997 where it was used for special escort work including prison and bullion runs. But its crowning glory came when it was used to transport Princess Diana's body from Hyde Park Corner in London to the Spencer family home in Althorp on September 6, 1997 for her funeral.

Owner Richard Hopkins of Stratford said he would be happy to show visitors around the Range Rover, 938A second generation model, which he said was part of the land's history and heritage.

The 52-year-old said: "I spotted it on eBay and I knew the registration CVC on an early car meant it was either a launch car or a demonstration car, which it was. I'm really interested in Range Rovers - I have 10. I bought it because I knew it was an early car. It was a year after I owned it I found it had done this job (been part of the escort for Diana's funeral). It was a bit of a shock."

Representatives of the Environment Agency will also be on hand to discuss flood protection, including Dave Throup, Nicola Manley, Martin Young and Matt Reid. Flood guru Mary Dhonau will also be on hand to discuss insurance and promote flood protection products.

There will be 30 different displays including forensics, finger printing and ‘wanted’ posters. There will be competitions including ‘guess the number of balloons in a police car’ and ‘guess the time it takes to put up a 10m temporary flood defence’.

The Safer Roads Partnership in Warwickshire and West Mercia will be attending with a range of high-vis goodies for children, pedestrians and cyclists to improve personal safety on the roads. The aerial platform used by firefighters will also feature.

A police helicopter will fly over and land at noon.