TWO kind hearted Worcestershire women were presented with the British Empire Medal to celebrate their hard work in their local communities.

Julie Cowley and Elaine Daykin received their medals from the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire at a special ceremony at Worcester's Guildhall.

The Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Holcroft presented the pair with the BEM, which was re-introduced to the Queen’s Honours in 2012 as a reward for a sustained, local contribution or innovative, high impact work over a relatively short duration.

Redditch mum Mrs Daykin, was awarded the medal in recognition of her work forming the Special Olympics Redditch in 1994, when the Worcestershire Special Olympics group became extremely large, with too many people wanting to join.

A support worker for Mencap, Mrs Daykin wanted to set up an individual group for Redditch in response to the lack of after school activities and community support for children and adults with special needs.

She said: "My youngest son, Richard, had Down Syndrome, which meant a lot of sports were inaccessible to him. He was full of energy and we had no where to take him.

"I read an article about the Special Olympics and thought we need that so I started it up.

"Receiving the award was lovely and it was nice for my family to be there."

Bromsgrove resident, Mrs Cowley, who works at Warwickshire County Cricket Club, was nominated for her role as an event co-ordinator during the ICC Champions Trophy, held at the club's ground, Edgbaston, in 2013.

She said: "I’ve always been very proud to be part of the team here at Edgbaston and to receive a medal for my role in the ICC Champions Trophy is something that I will treasure forever.

"The tournament gave great moments to so many people who came to Edgbaston. I am thrilled to have made such a notable contribution." Mrs Cowley has also been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in the new year.