'Coastguard' postman given honour

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A Cornish postman and part-time coastguard has been named as "Postman of the Year" by the Royal Mail.

Neil Chesebrough, from Bude, was nominated by local customers for being an "unsung hero".

In the Coastguard service for more than 21 years, he has attended rescues including the Boscastle floods in 2004.

Mr Chesebrough, who was presented with his award in London, became a volunteer after his brother-in-law and a friend drowned on a fishing trip at sea.

Boscastle rescue

It was thanks to the coastguard who, despite severe weather conditions, never gave up the search that their bodies were recovered.

Mr Chesebrough is now station officer for the Bude Coastguard and leads a team of 12 volunteers who are on call round the clock.

They work alongside other agencies when lifeboat, helicopter and air sea rescues are launched.

He helped rescue people when flooding overwhelmed the Cornish seaside community of Boscastle in 2004 and as a result was one of 36 coastguards to be awarded the Chief Coastguard's Commendation.

He said: "You don't do this for the glory, you just do it to put something back and I would hope that if I was in trouble, someone would get out of bed and do something for me."