A young woman from Croydon who turned her life around with help from The Prince’s Trust has met Hollywood star Tom Hardy.

Jade Whittle, 22, was one of eight young people who took part in a workshop delivered by the actor, an Ambassador for the charity, who has starred in Black Hawk Down, RocknRolla and the award-winning series Band Of Brothers.

Without any guidance or activities, Jade was abusing drugs and alcohol by the age of 16. She had an unhappy school life and was bullied, she was a very angry teenager who clashed with both pupils and teachers.

She joined The Prince’s Trust 12-week Team programme a year later and her life changed. Jade enrolled on a music technology course and has aspirations to go to university.

Jade met the actor at the Soho Sanctum Hotel, where she took part in a 4-hour workshop to boost confidence, motivation and self esteem.

She said: “Tom was inspirational and he made me feel that even if you have experienced hard times, you can overcome your problems and make huge success of your life with the right people and positive thinking.”

Mr Hardy said: “It was fantastic to meet Jade and see how she has turned her life around.

"This group care passionately about making a success of their lives. I find their enthusiasm incredibly infectious, partly because I can really relate to their struggles.

"It was great to help build up their confidence."

He added: "I became an Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust to show my support for its work with tens of thousands of disadvantaged young people every year.

"It’s so important to me that they get the life-changing second chance that I had.”