A former Liskeard police officer was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

As a policeman for 30 years, David Thompson served at a number of local towns including Padstow, Liskeard and St Austell and was a youth intervention officer for 15 years, helping with school-based education, developing life-skills projects, working with disaffected youth and being a pivotal role in the Street-safe Project, a night-time economy project in Newquay.

He created and ran two police cadet units for seven years supporting a number of young people from all backgrounds.

Just before retiring in 2016 he became the first recipient of Devon and Cornwall Police’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’

David has held a number of roles within the scouting movement over 35 years and continues with this today in a national role as the UK’s Explorer Scout Advisor.

David has assisted with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for 30 years in supervising, assessing and training roles assisting young people to achieve their awards.

For 25 years he has volunteered with the Bodmin and Wenford Railway as a signalman and train guard and also volunteers at the Helston Railway and Dartmoor Railway.

He is also active as a volunteer manager for the Youth Hostels Association and has previously held positions of first aider trainer for the British Heart Foundation’s community Heart-start campaign and as a school governor at three local schools including Torpoint.

David said: ‘It is an honour to receive this honour in recognition of the youth and community work I have and do undertake; it is however important to recognise all those who have assisted me with this work, as it is through teamwork that things happen, and I thank all those adults who have assisted or do assist me in developing and implementing youth based initiatives for the benefit of young people.’