Animal rescue founder Anne Owen gets New Year Honours MBE

Anne Owen also educates people in the community about animal welfare

An animal lover who set up a rescue centre in north Wales has been appointed MBE for services to animal health and welfare.

Anne Owen, 65, from Flintshire, is among dozens of Welsh people named on the New Year Honours list.

She set up the North Clwyd Animal Rescue Centre in 1978 after she took in a stray dog.

It is now the largest single animal charity in north Wales, rescuing over 1,800 unwanted cats and dogs in 2014.

'Really shocked'

Mrs Owen is also passionate about educating people about caring for pets and she regularly takes her mobile road show around schools and communities.

She said she was "really shocked" to hear about her honour.

"It's not something I really think about, you just get on with life," she said.

"It's nice that your work is recognised. It's not just me, it's my family and friends too."

In Ruthin, David Baden Jones, who is principal and chief executive of Deeside College, becomes an OBE for services to further education in north-east Wales.

Meanwhile, Josephine Sykes, of Rossett, near Wrexham, received a British Empire Medal for services to drama through the Chester Mystery Plays Production Committee.