A COALVILLE man is among three dedicated people who were presented with the British Empire Medal this month.

They were all honoured for service to their communities in this year's King's Birthday Honours List.

Mark Storer was recognised for services to charitable fundraising for people with cancer. 

He is the founder and chair of the charity Brown Dog, which raises money to fund vital equipment or infrastructure to improve the detection or treatment of cancer, as well as improving patient care.

Mark was presented with his awards by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire at two investitures at County Hall, Glenfield.

Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Colonel Murray Colville TD DL, presented three medals at two ceremonies held this month.

Col Colville said: "I am delighted to present these honours to three Leicestershire residents who have dedicated themselves to the wellbeing of their communities.

"Their wonderful and selfless contributions have been rightly recognised, and it is a real pleasure and privilege for me, in my role as Vice Lord-Lieutenant, to present these honours to them on behalf of His Majesty the King."

The Brown Dog website says: In April 1999 Mark was told that he had testicular cancer and that it had spread to his lungs and lymph nodes.

He would require extensive chemotherapy over six months. Thankfully, Mark responded to the treatment and a year later was told he was in the clear.

Mark decided he wanted to do something to raise money for the hospital to say thank you.

So with the help of his friends, Anil Patel and Peter Little, a charity challenge was organised in the Lake District called The Wordsworth Challenge - £23,000 was raised and given to the hospital to refurbish the very old and tired day room on the Oncology ward.

Mark and his friends decided they wanted to do more fundraising events to help more people who had cancer, but agreed they needed to have an identity.

At the time most of the people who did the first challenge worked for Lloyds-TSB - where Mark worked at that time - and as such Mark suggested the name 'Brown Donkey' as a spoof of the Lloyds black horse.

However, Pete said: "Why call ourselves brown donkey when you have a brown dog - let's call ourselves Brown Dog".

Mark said: "When I was told in 1999 that I had cancer and that I would need six months of chemotherapy, I thought my luck had run out. When I was told a year later that I was in full remission, that's when I realised I was really one of the lucky ones.

"That's when I knew in my heart that I needed to raise money to say thank you to those who had saved my life and help others who have cancer."

The other BEM recipients from Leicestershire were:

• Peter Blount, for services to the community in Wymeswold. Mr Blount has been involved in supporting several local groups and charitable causes, including St Mary's Church, running an after-school club for the village primary school, volunteering for the East Midlands Ambulance Service as a Community First Responder, organising CPR training for village residents and interactive first aid sessions for primary school children, and volunteering as Group Scout Leader for the 1^st Wolds Scout Group.
• Maureen O'Malley, for services to the community in Market Harborough. Mrs O'Malley worked for many years in various roles at Voluntary Action South Leicestershire, a local charity providing services and projects to improve lives. She secured external funding to set up and establish a dementia guardians initiative, to provide additional support to people in need in Market Harborough.