Honour is humbling, says airman Neil Hope

A squadron leader at the Shropshire RAF base where Princes William and Harry earned their stripes was today awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List.

Neil Hope has been recognised for his charity work and efforts to make RAF Shawbury more efficient. He joins a host of top names on the select list including veteran comic Ronnie Corbett and golfing prodigy Rory McIlroy.

Squadron Leader Hope has raised at least £100,000 over the last six years through the charity Taking Football to Africa and Beyond which collects and redistributes football kits to needy children.

He said of the MBE: "I was absolutely gobsmacked because I didn't expect it. It's very humbling and it's nice to be recognised for the thing I do, primarily the football stuff in Africa."

Corbett, whose career spans 60 years, is awarded the CBE for services to entertainment and charity. He is already an OBE.

McIlroy is awarded an MBE. The 22-year-old won the US Open by eight shots in June in a record low score of 16-under-par 268.

Also honoured is West Mercia Police Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, from south Shropshire, who receives the Queen's Policing Medal. He led the review into the actions of Cumbria Police following the 2010 Derrick Bird shootings.