Queen's Birthday Honours 2021: Carers given medal

Colin and Jacqueline Payne said their care work has never felt like work to them

A couple that cared for adults with learning disabilities throughout the pandemic have been awarded with a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen's birthday Honours.

Jacqueline and Colin Payne from Weston-super-Mare in Somerset looked after the adults in their own home.

The couple said it was necessary after day care centres had been closed due to the government's Covid-19 regulations.

Mrs Payne said she was "shocked" to hear they were getting the medal.

The couple decided to turn their house into a care home 11 years ago as part of an initiative set up by their local council called Shared Lives.

They have supported a man in his forties and two women, one in her fifties and one in her forties, ever since, although the people they were caring for spent much of their days elsewhere.

When lockdown came in and many care facilities closed, Mr and Mrs Payne took on caring for the three people full-time.

'We're like a family'

Mrs Payne said: "They're like family now because we've been with them for so long. It doesn't seem like work for us.

"So getting the award was a bit of a shock because we weren't expecting anything like that."

When the couple were told they would be given a medal, Mr Payne said they had to check it wasn't a scam.

"There's been an awful lot of carers who have had to stay at home during the pandemic with the people they care for because the day centres had closed," he said.

"When we do get it I'll feel like were getting it for all the carers that have gotten through lockdown."