TWO Worcestershire men, who have dedicated their lives to serving the community, have been presented with the British Empire Medal (BEM).

Ian Northcott and John Henderson received their medals from the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire during a special ceremony at Worcester's Guildhall this afternoon.

At the start of the service Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Holcroft said he was representing Her Majesty the Queen at the ceremony, to award the medals to two "outstanding" county recipients.

He told the audience that gathered, which included family and friends, that the BEM was reintroduced to the Queen’s Honours in 2012 as a reward to fantastic community workers - and was only bestowed on chosen recipients after considerable scrutiny.

He added the pair were wonderful examples of selflessness to their community, Worcestershire and the nation as a whole.

Mr Northcott, from Bromsgrove, was awarded his medal for services in helping people, particularly those who are homeless in the West Midlands.

The former policeman led a well-known charitable campaign, Socks and Chocs, a charity which supplies homeless centres around the UK with spare pairs of socks, chocolate, sleeping bags and other essential items.

The idea came to Mr Northcott from his time in the armed forces, realising a fresh clean pair of socks always made him feel fantastic even when he was cold and wet.

He told the Worcester News: "When I first saw the letter from the cabinet office I wondered what I had done wrong.

"I was told three weeks before Christmas, and was really surprised.

"You are sworn to secrecy at first."

Meanwhile, John Henderson received his award for community service over four decades including serving on the church council of St Deny's Church, and serving two terms as churchwarden.

During this time he carried out a huge amount of work for the parish including compiling the community newsletter, and setting up and running the 100 club, which has raised much needed funds for the church.

He has also given up hours of his time as chairman of the Friends of Croome Park, helping them to raise thousands of pounds to help the preservation of the estate.

Mr Henderson told the Worcester News he was also shocked when he heard he would be receiving the award, and thank wife, Cara, for her help over the years.

Worcester MP Robin Walker, who attended the ceremony, said he wanted to attend to pass his congratulations onto the pair.

He added: "One of the fantastic things are honour system does is recognise the unseen work that volunteers give year after year, decade after decade.

"It was a great move to bring back the BME for that purpose."