Two Bucks residents have been awarded British Empire Medals in recognition of their charitable and fundraising works in their local communities.

Sean Wheeler, from Marlow and Trudie Bird from Milton Keynes were presented with their awards by the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, at a ceremony at the Milton Keynes Council Chamber on November 13.

Sean has volunteered with the HIV charity, Thames Valley Positive Support (TVPS) for the past 26 years.

He started out working as a buddy in 1993, supporting people who were too ill to come to the centre and assisting them in day to day tasks.

Over the years Sean's role has grown and developed as he was invited to join the board of trustees, has held the post of vice chair and is currently the chair of the charity, having been in this post for the past 8 years.

Trudie Bird has used her personal experience of the loss of a child and her passion for health and fitness to dedicate a great part of her life to supporting others and raising funds for charity.

Her son Harry was born with Spina Bifida and died at birth so Trudie and her husband Paul, who have two other sons, have used their experience to support another family in a similar situation, providing practical help and support.

She also set up a running group to train for the London Marathon and went on to raise over £5k for the Spina Bifida research charity Sparks in the 2010 event.

Trudie has since gone on to raise more than £4k for Shine, a more local charity supporting families and those suffering from Spina Bifida.

Speaking at the event Sir Henry said: "Both these individuals have dedicated a huge part of their lives to helping others in a range of different ways.

“Their dedication, passion and enthusiasm for the work that they do must be applauded.

“It gives me the greatest pleasure to award them both with this formal recognition and to give personal thanks on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen."