A DETECTIVE, mental health worker, charity founder and civil servant are among those who have been commended in The Queen's New Year Honours.

It was announced on Friday who had received the prestigious awards, which celebrate the hard work and dedication to helping others shown over many years by members of the community.

* A DETECTIVE who started his career as an officer in Bracknell has been awarded the Queen's Police Medal.

Detective Inspector Steve Armstead has worked for Thames Valley Police (TVP) since 1981 and currently manages the day-to-day running of the Berkshire East Prisoner Handling Team (PHT) at Maidenhead.

Det Insp Armstead said: "I am truly flattered to be receiving such a prestigious award.

"I owe this award to all those colleagues who have worked alongside me, often working long hours, to ensure that criminals are dealt with in a professional manner.

"I want this award to reflect the hard work and dedication of all the officers I have worked with. Hopefully, I have always encouraged them to aim to gain the best result in all of their investigations." Det Insp Armstead is due to retire from the police in September.

* A MAN who decided to use his experiences as a quadruple amputee to help others with disabilities has been made an MBE by The Queen.

Ray Edwards, 56, who led an expedition of able and disabled people up Mount Kilimanjaro and who has also founded a limb loss support charity was given the award for services for people with disability.

Mr Edwards, who lives in Sandhurst, said: "I feel as though it is my destiny to help others and it is a great gift.

"It is just amazing how you can turn your life around." Mr Edwards used to work in construction then in 1980 was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, cancer of the lymph glands, from which he recovered.

However, in 1987, he contracted septicaemia, leading to him losing both legs below the knee, one arm through the elbow and the other 10cm below the elbow.

Mr Edwards, who is married to Fiona and has children Michael, Diana, Christopher, Nicola and Taya, said: "I thought to myself, 'What am I going to do now?'. I put all my disability to good use to help others." After working for another charity and also running a construction business adapting disabled people's homes, Mr Edwards set up his own charity, Limbcare in June, to offer support for people affected by limb loss. See www.limbcare.org for fundraising or to donate.

In September, he also led up a team of 24 people who had lost limbs, physiotherapists and able-bodied supporters up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

He was forced to turn back before reaching the summit because of a chest infection but 17 of the group went on.

* AN MBE for services to healthcare was awarded to a nurse and latterly safety trainer who has worked at Broadmoor Hospital in Crowthorne for 37 years.

Clive Bonnet, a senior clinical nurse specialist, started work at the secure facility as a nurse before, in the 80s, becoming a specialist risk and safety trainer. He has been responsible for putting in place plans to prevent, manage and reduce violence across West London Mental Health Trust, the body which runs the hospital and others.

Mr Bonnett said: "It's an absolute honour to be awarded an MBE, and having my work here at Broadmoor Hospital recognised. Broadmoor Hospital is an incredible place to work and I feel I have achieved so much here. We won the 'Team of the year' award at the trust's Quality Awards in 2008, I won the 'Life time achievement award' in 2009, and am now being awarded an MBE. I'm retiring in March 2011, so it is a fantastic finale to my career." Leeanne McGee, director of high secure services, said: "He has dedicated his working life to maximising the quality of life of the patients in his care and making sure that his experience and knowledge improves and develops practice in this specialist area of healthcare. He is a superb role model for all staff and patients within the hospital. We are all so proud of his honour." * A FORMER civil servant who worked on a scheme to help people with failed company pensions get government support has been made an OBE.

Edward Smith, 60, who was head of customer standards at the Department of Work and Pensions before retiring in September after more than 42 years of government service, said: "The OBE is as much a recognition of the work of other people I worked with and for over the years because you don't achieve anything without others. I have treated it as a bit of a recognition for all the people in public service who work quietly away in the background and aren't often seen." Mr Smith worked on a project to enable hundreds of thousands of people whose company pensions went bust to get government payouts to almost the same value instead. The project