WILTSHIRE people have been celebrated in the Queen’s Honours list.

Councillor Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, Wiltshire Council member for Warminster Without and portfolio holder for strategic highways and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, , has been awarded an MBE for services to local government and the community.

In recognition of their work during and after the 2018 incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury, Wiltshire Council executive director Alistair Cunningham has been awarded an OBE. Director Robin Townsend and network operations manager Simon Rowe have received MBEs for services to the community in South Wiltshire.

Cllr Rhe-Philipe was first elected to Wiltshire County Council in 1997. In 2009 she was elected to the newly-formed Wiltshire Council.

She said: “I was quite surprised and very pleased to get this.

“The best part of being a councillor is actually getting things done and seeing change. It has been great to bring more jobs into Wiltshire. I have also been involved in the A303 changes at Stonehenge. There is still a way to go with that one and I have been working on it for many years. I was there when Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty were set up and have been a member of the north Wessex AONB ever since, it has done lots of very good work.”

Mr Cunningham said: “Robin, Simon and I are honoured to be nominated for these awards, which reflect the hard work and dedication that everyone at Wiltshire Council and our partners put in to support South Wiltshire during a very difficult time. It was very much a team effort, not only by those involved in the response but also by those who continued to provide high-quality services across Wiltshire so we could focus on the work in South Wiltshire over a 12-month period.”

Professor Tim Atkins, from Pewsey, has been awarded an OBE for his scientific support to the incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury in MArch and July 2018. Prof Atkins works at the Three Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and said: "I am deeply humbled by this award which means a lot to me. I was proud to be part of a large team of people without whom I would not have been effective in what I did.”

Paul Bates from Bradford on Avon, Professor of Hydrology at Bristol University, has also been awarded a CBE for his services to flood risk management.

He is best known for his work in developing new computer models for predicting areas at risk from flooding and publishing the algorithms behind these codes.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to receive this award. The last 20 years has seen amazing advances in flood science and it has been a privilege to contribute to this. I’ve been very lucky to work with fantastic PhD students and postdocs, and all have contributed to the research that underpins this honour.”