A DEDICATED fund-raiser from Eckington who has raked in tens of thousands of pounds for numerous charities has had her efforts recognised with a medal.

Joan Green is one of the selfless Worcestershire fund-raisers to win an award presented to mark the Year of the Volunteer and has been nominated for the national awards at London's Drury Lane Theatre in January.

"I was very surprised when I was told because the parish council nominated me," said a delighted Joan, "I had no idea until the letter came."

Joan is best known in the village for her annual flower festival, which started out as a small affair which raised £500 in 1993 and has since blossomed into a village-wide event which sees around 20 gardens open to the public and brought in £7,000 this year.

"We always had a flower festival in the church as part of the village fete," added Joan, "but visitors had little time to visit the church after seeing the fete so we thought we would try a stand-alone flower festival.

"In the second year we started opening gardens in the village and it has just grown from there."

The money raised by the festival goes to the upkeep of Holy Trinity Church, where Joan is a warden.

Devoted mum Joan has had to cope with tragedy but the experience of losing 14-year-old son Michael to a car accident in 1970, daughter Tracy Rock to cancer in February after an 18-month battle and suffering cancer herself has driven her work for numerous needy causes.

Joan and husband Dick raised £5,000 for the oncology unit at Cheltenham and helped drum up the cash for new tables in the village hall.

And this year the Greens and daughters Margaret Beech, from Worcester, and Tina Watson, from Eckington, took part in the Race For Life for Cancer Research in Worcester.

Joan will collect her Year of the Volunteer medal - produced by the Royal Mint - from the chairman of Worcestershire County Council, Derek Prodger, MBE, at the Council Chamber, County Hall, Worcester, on Friday.