King's Birthday Honours: Bristol police officer among those on list

A police sergeant is among a number of people from the West Country to be recognised in the King's Birthday Honours list.

Sgt Aqil Farooq, from Bristol, has been appointed MBE for his services to policing, diversity and inclusion.

His work has addressed issues of public confidence in police from under-represented backgrounds.

The honours list recognises the achievements and contribution to public life of people across the UK.

Sgt Farooq has helped deliver a 25% increase in the number of officers and staff recruited from previously under-represented backgrounds since 2015 and his approach has been adopted by other forces.

Michael Buckland from Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, has been appointed MBE for services to maritime safety.

He joined the crew at Weston-super-Mare in 1999, one of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) key strategic lifeboat stations in a high-risk area in the Bristol Channel.

He rescued five people during the first Covid lockdown, resulting in three lives saved.

Mark Andrew Goodway MBE, from Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, has been honoured for services to charity and to disadvantaged people.

He established the Matthew Tree Project Charity in 2010, with the objective to eradicate poverty from the UK and more than 10,000 people have been directly impacted by the work of his charity.

Katrina Louise Susannah Hicks Beach, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, was awarded a BEM for services to charity and music.

She is the director of volunteer-led Services of Mindsong; a charity which works with those experiencing dementia and mental health issues.

Sally Jane Orange, from Salisbury, Wiltshire has been appointed MBE for her services to charity and mental health.

She is a physiotherapist and army veteran who has run more than 80 marathons in different items of fancy dress, in a bid to reduce the stigma of mental health.

In the process she has broken five Guinness world records, including being the first person to complete a marathon on every continent in fancy dress.

Meanwhile, Robin Matthew Herringshaw MBE, from Portishead, Somerset, was also included in the list for his services to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

He was responsible for ceremonial arrangements being planned and executed on the strategic road network in England.

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