A PENSIONER and former Inspector in the Special Constabulary has received an MBE in recognition of a lifetime of charity work.

Middlesbrough man, Les Fawcett, 75, was awarded the honour by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in what his wife described as a “magical weekend”.

Mr Fawcett accepted the accolade on Friday, February 5, for serving the Middlesbrough community – particularly its senior citizens – for the past 60 years.

Chairman of Middlesbrough ’s Senior Citizens’ Forum, Mr Fawcett has also worked tirelessly for Southfield Community Council and Teesside University to improve the quality of life for older people in Middlesbrough .

Among other achievements, he introduced alley-gates to the town after a rise in the number of house break-ins. He also began the ‘message in a bottle’ scheme whereby a stamp on a front door alerts the emergency services to a form in an elderly person’s fridge listing ailments and medication.

Mr Fawcett said his favourite part of the “perfect” weekend was being able to share it with his 14-strong family.

He said: “The highlight was when I came out [of the palace] and had all my family around me. It brought tears to my eyes.”

His wife, Barbara Fawcett, also 75, said: “I don’t cry much but I did that day. We had a brilliant few days. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. To have all the family together was the best part.”

The couple also had a few words to say about how long Mr Fawcett spent chatting to Prince Charles.

Mrs Fawcett said: “They seemed to be speaking for a long time and they had a bit of a chuckle together.”

Her husband added: “There was a good bit of patter between the two of us. We chuckled about not looking my age. He said that they should be looking after me not me looking after them.”