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A long-serving Caerphilly County Borough councillor and Chair of the South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority has been presented with his MBE.

Councillor Tudor Davies was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours in November 2020.

The chair of South Wales Fire and Rescure Authority, Cllr Davies was presented with the award last week by Professor Peter Vaughan – Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Huw Jakeway, said that Cllr Davies has made a massive contribution to the authority with “outstanding leadership” and is respected by all on the team.

The award recognises “extraordinary people” and the Labour councillor received the award due to his “true dedication” to ensuring local communities benefit from a fire and rescue service.

Cllr Davies has represented Bargoed as a local councillor for 43 years, after being elected to Rhymney Valley Council in 1979. He will be standing in his fourteenth council election in May this year.

The 81-year-old has chaired the authority for nearly ten years and led the review in the suitability and location of all fire stations across South Wales achieving savings of £2 million.

In his role as South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority chair, Cllr Davies attends meetings with Welsh Government ministers.

He also attends the National Issues Committee for the three Welsh Fire Authorities, liaises with officers and stakeholders on day-to-day issues and meets with other blue light emergency statutory bodies.

Cllr Davies has also committed his time to charities, and raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK.

Cllr Davies said: “I am not used to awards, I am quite happy to get on with my responsibilities. We work as a team at the fire authority and the award represents them as well.”

He added that he was grateful for the support from his family and fellow councillors.