Martin Lown, a firefighter who lives in Ross-on-Wye, and has organised and taken part in many fundraising events for the Fire Fighters Charity, has been honoured by HM The Queen.

Martin has been awarded with a British Empire Medal for his services to the Fire Fighters Charity on The Queen’s 93rd official birthday.

In 2015 Martin won the Supporter of the Year at the Spirit of Fire awards hosted by The Fire Fighters Charity, and presented by BBC newsreader Nicholas Owen, the awards honour members of the fire community for their dedication to The Fire Fighters Charity.

Martin is the Service Coordinator for Hereford and Worcester and regularly pushes his body to its physical limits to raise money for the charity. He has climbed Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest Base Camp, and Mount Toubkal in North Africa in full fire kit, carrying specially adapted breathing apparatus. These three mountain ascents alone raised £12,000 and Martin helped Hereford and Wor­cester Fire and Rescue raise nearly £90,000 in 2014.