A COMMUNITY-spirited Wyre Forest councillor and army veteran has been handed a major national honour for his voluntary work.

Labour councillor Steven Walker has been given a British Citizen Award for his voluntary services to the community.

He is a Broadwaters ward district councillor and served in the British Army with the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and the Adjutant General’s Corps (SPS) before retiring in 2009 after 22 years.

But it is his voluntary and charitable work which saw him nominated for the award by his friend Karl Matthews and wife Deborah.

His fundraising efforts include supporting the Royal British Legion, orphans in Kosovo and Sarajevo and completing an 11.5 hour run across the Falklands in aid of a local school.

Councillor Walker is also a qualified Emergency Medical Technician with West Midlands Ambulance Service, secretary for the Severn Area Rescue Association and a committee member of the Horsefair and Proud Group.

The 49-year-old, who will get his medal on January 25 at the Palace of Westminster, said: “The award came as a big surprise really and I wasn’t aware I had been nominated.

“I just like to help other people and improve our local community with my friends and colleagues within the various groups I help with, whom without a lot of things would be very difficult.

“We work as a team, but I get a great deal of satisfaction from helping others. My ambition is to become Mayor of Kidderminster one day, although I’m still a long way off from that yet.”

Wife Deborah added: “Steve is a truly rare and wonderful human being and what he does is a rare and wonderful thing.

“His selflessness in his pursuits to create a sense of pride in the community is so commendable. He actively campaigns for residents within our community to get the best services possible and also assists those who need help and support, and he always thinks of his family and others before himself with zeal.

“He is such an inspiration and is an admired and respected ambassador.”