A man from Halstead has received special recognition for his work helping East Anglian farmers in financial difficulty.

Peter Hickling was awarded the East regional award during the annual meeting of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) held in Oxfordshire.

Mr Hickling works as the secretary for the R.A.B.I’s Essex committee and coordinates fundraising events and secures sponsorship deals which raise funds for those farmers in need of financial help.

Mr Hickling was handed his award by R.A.B.I deputy chairman Joshua Hosier who went on to thank him for all of his hard work.

Mr Hickling said: “It gives me so much pleasure to accept this award in recognition of the Essex committee, a small but perfectly formed group.” Mr Hosier added: “Peter is an amazingly dedicated member of the Essex committee.

“With his farming interests, connections and charm he makes everything work and run smoothly and has a vision for how each event should be run.

“With Peter, things are always well organised, with every detail thought through.”

Throughout the last year, R.A.B.I gave out £2 million worth of grants to farmers in financial difficulty.

To find out more about the institution visit www.rabi.org.uk or call R.A.B.I’s confidential helpline 0808 281 9490.