MORE people from Essex should be nominated for honours from the Queen, current recipients have said.

The call is going out for the unsung heroes and heroines of the county to be nominated for an award and those in South Essex who have already received awards think more people from Essex should be put forwards.

Lucy Watts, 22, of Swans Green Close, Benfleet, received her MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace for her hard work in educating people about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects connective tissues in skin, tendons, ligaments and bones.

She said: “It was just nice to be recognised for my work.

“It was a lovely day and so surreal about going behind the gates at Buckingham Palace.

“Prince Charles was so lovely and made you feel like you were the only person there.

“It was a really special day and one that I will always remember.”

Miss Watts, who has trained her own assistance dog, Molly, added that it was a nice way for the community to reward people for their work.

She added: “I definitely think more people from Essex should get an award,.

“There are lots of people doing really important work who deserve to be recognised.

“It would also help raise the profile of Essex in a positive way, as it sometimes gets a bad reputation.”

Her thoughts were echoed by Deborah Rogan, who received an OBE for her 30 years of service to education, working exclusively in Essex.

Mrs Rogan said: “It meant a huge amount to me that my colleagues and peers felt that I deserved such an award for doing a job that I love and feel is a great privilege.

“Although you don’t know who nominated you the process takes a great deal of time and there is a huge amount of discussion, moderation and assessment so that the award retains its distinction.

“Essex is a wonderful part of England with great people who are creative, hardworking and skilled and it would be great to see more of those people recognised, not just in the honours system but through our local and national press and events which share the excellence in the county.”

Lord Petre, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, has also called for more Essex people to be nominated.

He held a special event call Do the Honours For Essex, to raise the profile of the national honours and encourage nominations.

Lord Petre, who is the Queen’s representative in the county and Patron of Essex Community Foundation , which supported the event, said: “It’s so important to recognise the great contribution people make in their communities. We want to increase the number of honours awarded to people who make such a difference to the lives of others.”

“There were 47 honours awarded to people in the county this year.

“That may seem quite a lot, but Essex has a population of nearly 1.7 million and there are some 10,000 voluntary groups in Essex, so there must be many more people out there who deserve an award.”

Information about honours nominations can be found online at gov.uk/honours

To find out more about Lucy, visit lucy-watts.co.uk