Royal honour for Vale flood man

3:58pm Wednesday 30th July 2008

A council employee was given a royal pat on the back at Buckingham Palace garden party.

Robin Walker, a maintenance worker at the Vale of White Horse District Council, and his wife Rose, attended the prestigious occasion alongside council chairman Alison Rooke and her husband Brian.

Mrs Rooke wanted the Direct Services Organisation (DSO) team, which Mr Walker works for, to be recognised for their efforts when floods hit Oxfordshire. He was picked at random from a list of other staff members.

Mr Walker said: "It was a real honour to be invited and I really felt as though I was representing the whole team.

"During times of floods we do all work really hard to try and help as many people as possible and it's nice to know this is appreciated."

Mrs Rooke said: "The DSO team always works incredibly hard all year round."