A COMMUNITY-spirited Kidderminster solicitor who has been handed an MBE said he hopes his honour inspires other people to follow in his footsteps.

Charles Talbot was named in the Queen’s New Year Honours for services to the community which has seen him work tirelessly in Wyre Forest public life for almost 60 years.

Mr Talbot served as a Kidderminster Borough councillor for 15 years from 1959 and became the town’s youngest ever mayor aged 33.

When the authority was disbanded and Wyre Forest District Council set up, Mr Talbot campaigned strongly for the reformation of Kidderminster’s own town council for decades, a dream which was realised in 2015.

He later served as a councillor on Wyre Forest District Council for three years between 1976 and 1979.

Amongst the 85-year-old’s successes through his community work in Kidderminster included the setting up of Kidderminster and District Youth Trust (KDYT) in 1966 and the establishment of the Museum of Carpet in 2012 following a 31-year campaign.

The father-of-three and grandfather-of-five was also instrumental in the Kidderminster twinning with the German town of Husum. For his work, Mr Talbot was awarded Husum’s golden ring of honour – and is one of only two people to ever to receive it.

He also ran the family law firm Talbot and Talbot and still works as a consultant solicitor for Painters in Kidderminster.

Mr Talbot, who lives in Kidderminster with his wife Jean, said: “I’m delighted because these things are never expected because we don’t know the process.

“I am also very pleased that a lot of people who have known me for a very long time have written in my favour to receive such an award.

“It is an enormous compliment and one that I can only say a huge thank you for and it encourages me to carry on doing what I have done for the rest of my life.

“None of it would have been possible without all the people who worked with me and backed everything we did. I also hope that it inspires others to do the same.”

Mr Talbot remains involved with KDYT, the Museum of Carpet and the Twinning Association while pledging to continue to support the newly formed Kidderminster Town Council. And he shows no sign of slowing down at the age of 85.

He added: I’ve been doing what I do for a long time. What would I do if I wasn’t busy?”