A CHAMPION volunteer has received the ultimate recognition after being awarded an MBE.

Jean Mulford, from Leigh, is the chair of Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action and has dedicated herself to the town for more than 25 years, tirelessly helping children, the elderly and disabled.

Jean, now 78, joined the board of St Helens Council for Voluntary Service in 1988, becoming its chair in 1996 and remaining in the role ever since.

She has also been on the committee of St Helens Home Start since 1986 and served on the board at the Coalition of Disabled People for more than 20 years.

In 1989 Jean assisted the CVS in developing Disability Advice and Information Service St Helens (DASH) and, in 2011, played a major role in the amalgamation with St Helens Shopmobility to form a new organisation — St Helens Independent Living Services.

“I got the MBE letter on the last day of November and I was stunned,” says Jean, a former lecturer and assistant principal at St Helens College.

“I went to one of the Queen’s garden parties a couple of years ago and I thought it was an invitation to another one.

“I had to keep it a secret and was only allowed to tell my husband. I couldn’t tell anybody and keeping a secret like that wasn’t easy!”

Jean, who was also awarded the Freedom of the Borough in 2012, added: “I have volunteered ever since my teens I remember when my dad worked with St John’s Ambulance and I used to help out at local football matches."

Also in line to receive honours is Catherine Marie Garside who is from Leigh and the head teacher of St. Ambrose Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Salford was awarded a CBE for services to education.

Former Member of the European Parliament for the North West Brian Simpson, who lives in Great Sankey, but is chairman of Golborne Cricket Club, was granted an OBE for parliamentary and political service.