Charity worker Sue receives MBE from Queen

“It was a truly memorable day,” said Mrs Hughes, who is married to retired dentist Peter and has a son, a daughter and three grandchildren.

“Everything went smoothly and we were well looked after.”

Mrs Hughes, of Higham, has been involved with the voluntary sector since 1963 when she joined Burnley Council for Social Services, now Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service.

She is still a trustee there alongside similar roles at Emmaus Burnley, Community Futures for Lancashire and Blackburn Cathedral Appeal while holding roles as president of Emmaus North-West Partnership, the 352 Burnley Squadron ATC and a Patron of Young Lancashire.

Her former positions include four decades as a volunteer, deputy manager and chairman of Pendle CAB Board, 32 years as a magistrate, the same length of time as a lay member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal, 18 years as a member of the Lancashire Probation Committee and Board and 10 years as a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire.

“I have just become chairman of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service. This is the organisation I joined in 1963 when I first came to live in East Lancashire, so my involvement with the voluntary sector has come full circle,” she added.