AFTER seeing Bolton hero Jason Kenny win a gold medal at the Olympics, Claire Phillips is keeping her fingers crossed she will meet The Queen at the Commonwealth Games, which start today.

Claire is one of the hundreds of volunteers at the Games, a goal she set herself after being diagnosed with breast cancer when she returned home from the London 2012 Games, where she worked as deputy staffing manager looking after the volunteers.

Ms Phillips, aged 49, will be a volunteer in the VIP hospitality lounge.

She said: “I applied to be a volunteer as something to work towards while I was undergoing my treatment.

“I have finished my chemotherapy and radiotherapy and this is the first thing I’ve done since being ill.

“It was something I wanted to do and am feeling pretty excited to be volunteering at the Commonwealth Games.”

Ms Phillips, who lives in Bolton, went to Scotland on Sunday after getting tickets for the rehearsals of the opening ceremony, which takes place tonight.

And tomorrow she will take up her duties manning the reception and greeting VIP visitors from across the world.

She said: “The lounge will be for VIPs, royals, and those from the Commonwealth Federation as well as some athletes.”

The former fundraising manager for Bolton Lads and Girls Club, added: “I would be thrilled to meet the Queen and Jason Kenny.”

At the Olympics Ms Phillips managed an army of 2,000 volunteers and said it was exciting to be part of something which captured the whole country, even those who had not really been interested in sport.

“It was awesome working at the Olympics and really exciting to be down there seeing all the athletes, and this time I get to be on other side, volunteering.”

Ms Phillips was diagnosed with breast cancer after being invited for a routine mammogram as part of a pilot project in the region to screen women aged 47 to 50.