Martin Benson BEM has collected his investiture medal from Government House.

Mr Benson was presented with his British Empire Medal by Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney, for his outstanding and continuing public service, during a ceremony attended by his friends and family.

He has been pivotal in Rushen Emergency Ambulance for more than 40 years, and in the First Responders scheme, which he runs in parallel to this.

Both services run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with calls going directly to him. All this has been in addition to his career as an air traffic controller. Joining forces with others he helped to obtain public access defibrillators for the south of the island.