King's Birthday Honours award for PC hurt protecting runners

Claire Bond said her "jaw just dropped" when she saw the letter informing her of her medal

A police constable who suffered life-changing injuries while protecting the public has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM).

PC Claire Bond's leg and kneecap were broken when she was crushed by the car of a drug dealer in Stafford in 2018.

After he reversed into her, she punched him in the face to stop him driving into some runners.

She is one of many Staffordshire people to be recognised in the King's Birthday Honours, revealing their stories.

In the years since her injury, Ms Bond has learned to walk again, returned to work and raised large sums of money for local and national charities that supported her.

Commended for services to women in policing and the community, she said: "I love praise, but I find it difficult to accept it.

"I've just been doing these things because it makes me happy to do them."

But she added: "You need to be proud of what you've done, because they don't give [the medals] out for nothing."

Ms Bond, 51, who was given a Pride of Britain award in 2020.

She said she hoped the medal would be a positive story for policing and "show police officers work so hard".

Of her injury, she said: "I think when you suffer that kind of trauma you desperately try to go back to being the person you were."

But in the five years since, she said she had come to terms with being "a different person now" and said she was "ok" with that.

She added that learning the latest award meant she now had the right to bear a coat of arms had brought a smile, as had discovering her children were entitled to get married in St Paul's Cathedral.

"How great is that?" she said.

Naomi Forrester-Soto fielded media requests for information during the Covid-19 pandemic

Naomi Forrester-Soto, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, will also receive a BEM for her work to explain coronavirus during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 44-year-old virologist from Keele University was thrust into the limelight and made more than 500 media appearances, starting with an appearance on BBC Radio Stoke.

She was surprise at the award and said: I didn't feel like I was doing very much other than answering the phone and giving a few answers."

But she added: "I suppose there's a sense that someone has recognised how much work I've put in and that small things matter.

"I hope that in some small way I reduced people's concerns and enabled them to weather the ups and downs of the pandemic better."

The award was extra special to her, she said, because her grandfather received a similar honour for his service in the armed forces.

Suzie Hutchinson, 61, spent 25 years working for Little Hearts Matter

Suzie Hutchinson from Stafford, the chief executive of the Little Hearts Matter charity, will be appointed an MBE for services to children with congenital heart disease.

The charity provides support and answers to families affected by the condition and she said "making changes for the families is one of the greatest rewards".

The "greatest joy", she added, was meeting an adult who had grown up and thrived after experiencing congenital heart disease as a child.

She said she was "surprised and honoured" to be nominated and said it was recognition for the hard work of a lot of people.

Frank Meakin, 71, from Stoke-on-Trent will receive the BEM for services to young people in the city.

He spent more than 50 years as a Scout leader and joked that after joining the organisation at the age of 13 he "never really left".

He said of learning about his award: "I was gobsmacked. I hadn't expected anything like this, I never thought about awards."

Other honours recipients from Staffordshire include:

CBE

• Michael Cherry OBE from Burton upon Trent, formerly chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, for services to business and to international trade.

OBE

• Linda Cobb from Burton upon Trent, for services to housing while at Derby City Council.

• Mohammad Wazir from of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, for services to politics and the community.

MBE

• Lorna Millington from Cannock, for services to business and the environment while at Cadent Gas.

• Terence Tricker from Lichfield, for services to the community in Staffordshire.

BEM

• Nigel Bowers from Stoke-on-Trent, the chair of Chatterley Whitfield Friends, for services to heritage.

• Kim Smith from Burton upon Trent, for services to the community in Staffordshire, particularly during Covid-19

• George Wright from Stafford, the president of the Stafford Branch of the Royal British Legion, for voluntary services to veterans in Staffordshire.