SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: A very special Outstanding Service Award in memory of a very special man

THERE were tears of pride last week at the Guildhall in Chard when an Outstanding Service Award was presented to family members of a much-loved husband and father who died earlier this year as a result of a car crash.

Andrew Killeen, 47, who worked as a core member of the local ambulance First Responders group, died from the injuries he sustained in a car crash at Seavington, near Ilminster, back in January.

Chard town crier Stuart Cumming, who in his full-time job works for the Ambulance Service and knew Mr Killeen well, movingly spoke in tribute of his friend at last week’s annual meeting of Chard Town Council in which awards were presented to people who had made a significant contribution to the local community.

Mr Cumming described Mr Killeen as a “remarkable man” who had “unselfishly given his time to help others.”

PHOTO - TOP: The Mayor of Chard, Cllr Jenny Kenton, with Andrew Killeen's wife Ann and their three daughters.

PHOTO - RIGHT: Andrew Killeen.

Mr Killeen’s wife Ann and three daughters – Hannah, Amber and Heidi – were at the Guildhall to receive a posthumous award in recognition of his services to the community in which he also served as a governor at Redstart Primary School in Chard.

Mrs Killeen said: “The First Responders was a passion for him. We are so so proud of him.”

She and her daughters received the award from the Mayor of Chard, Cllr Jenny Kenton.

Other Outstanding Service awards were presented to Chard Concert Brass duo Arthur Dunn and John Cane for their long association with the band, volunteer and disability campaigner Maureen Brown who despite being in a wheelchair had done an abseil and flown in a Tiger Moth, plus local photographer Hayley Lynch for her work on a charity calendar in aid of cancer-related charities.

PHOTO - ABOVE: The Mayor with Arthur Dunn.

PHOTO - ABOVE: The Mayor with Maureen Brown.

PHOTO - ABOVE: The Mayor with John Cane.

PHOTO - ABOVE: The Mayor with Hayley Lynch.

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