One of Tenby’s main events of the year has been highlighted at a prestigious ceremony in London.

The town’s firefighters carnival was mentioned when Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service scooped a prestigious award at The Fire Fighters Charity’s Spirit of Fire Awards in London, last Thursday, in recognition of the contribution it has made to supporting The Fire Fighters Charity since 2015.

The Supporter Of The Year - Fire and Rescue Service award, sponsored by the Fire Service College, was presented to representatives from the service, including Tenby’s watch manager Jeremy Lees, at a ceremony at One Great George Street in Westminster, after which they then joined other nominees and winners for a reception at No.10 Downing Street that was hosted by Home Secretary, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP.

The Fire Fighters Charity’s Spirit of Fire Awards recognise the support and dedication of firefighters and fire and rescue service personnel from across the UK. The event, saw the presentation of 11 awards - including a Special Recognition award for Dany Cotton, the Commissioner of London Fire Brigade, for her contribution in promoting positive mental health across the fire service.

Falling in the 75th anniversary year of The Fire Fighters Charity - the UK’s leading provider of health and wellbeing services for the fire community - the Spirit of Fire Awards was hosted by BBC Newsreader, Nicholas Owen.

Speaking of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s Supporter of The Year – Fire and Rescue Service award, chief executive of The Fire Fighters Charity, Dr. Jill Tolfrey, said: “Mid and West Wales’s award is thoroughly deserved. Despite being a mostly on-call and rural service, it has seen its fundraising contributions over the past 15 years increase from around £20,000 per year to over £140,000. This has been down to staff from across the service enthusiastically organising an array of fundraising events and personal challenges each year, these include the annual Tenby Firefighters Carnival and the Swansea Christmas Donkey collection, which has been running for 30 years. A hugely committed service, this award is very well deserved.”