A PAIR of ‘local heroes’ from East Renfrewshire were special guests at events to mark the official opening of the Scottish Parliament’s new session.

The Reverend Maureen Leitch, who is a well-known East Renfrewshire minister, and charity volunteer Jean-Charles Sibille were both invited to Edinburgh by West Scotland MSP Paul O’Kane.

Maureen attended the Kirking of the Parliament – an interfaith service held in St Giles’ Cathedral – and, afterwards, met Prince Charles to chat with him about her work.

This includes a 16-year stint as minister at Bourock Parish Church, in Barrhead, as well as two spells as interim moderator of Neilston Parish Church.

Mr O’Kane, who is also a Labour councillor for Newton Mearns North and Neilston, invited Maureen to the event in recognition of her long-standing work across the Levern Valley communities.

The next day, he was joined by Jean-Charles at Holyrood as Her Majesty the Queen addressed MSPs in the chamber.

Each MSP at Holyrood was able to invite a local hero to the official opening in recognition of efforts being made to support others in their community during the Covid pandemic.

Mr O’Kane chose to bring Jean-Charles as a reward for his work with Cosgrove Care, which supports people with additional needs and their families.

Jean-Charles, from Giffnock, has been helping to deliver food parcels and shopping to those in need across East Renfrewshire.

Mr O’Kane told the Barrhead News: “It was fantastic to receive so many brilliant nominations for local hero to take with me to the opening of the Scottish Parliament.

“This made selecting a local hero that much harder but, after reading all of the nominations, I knew that I had to pick Jean Charles.

“His selfless acts for his community during the midst of a challenging situation are inspiring and truly show the very best of us.”

Jean-Charles was joined at Holyrood by his wife Maxine and also had the chance to chat with Prince Charles about his voluntary work in East Renfrewshire.

Mr O’Kane added: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to people like Jean-Charles and Maureen who have kept our communities going in the darkest of times.”