Deal’s deputy mayor has described receiving a Locality public sector hero award at the House of Lords yesterday as a proud moment.

Cllr Wayne Elliott was presented the award by Baroness Thornton for providing exemplary support, encouragement, advice and guidance to local community organisations.

The north Deal councillor who has served on Deal Town Council and Dover District Council since 1979 was one of 17 councillors in the country to be given the special glass trophy.

He said: “It was a proud moment. I’m ever so proud that I’ve been rewarded for doing the job that I was elected to do. My family are very proud too, especially my wife and children.”

Cllr Elliott was nominated for it by Chrissi Dunn, who joined him at the presentation in London, along with mayor of Deal Cllr Adrian Friend.

At first Cllr Elliott was unaware who had nominated him but it didn’t take him long to figure it out.

He said: “I guessed it was Chrissi because I remembered a little while ago she asked me when I was first elected. I put two and two together.”

Mrs Dunn said: “The words on the award explain why I nominated Wayne.

“There were a million and one good things I could have said about him and the support he has given local groups in our town. One example I used was the Talk It Out group, set up and run by ordinary people to support each other with depression.

“The benefits to the community have been enormous. He has encouraged and supported so many other groups too.

“He is always the first one there for fundraising, to give advice or anything else that is asked of him.

“The hours he puts into our town behind the scenes is phenomenal.

“As a fellow volunteer in Deal I admire that he always puts our town first and his heart is in what he does.”

Over the years Cllr Elliott has been involved in many town and district matters. Only recently he went out of his way to praise youngsters from Castle Community College for helping a homeless man.

He said: “I think the highlight has been dining with the Queen Mother on the Royal yacht in 1981. I was mayor at the time. It was at Dover Docks.”

He was congratulated on the achievement by his fellow Deal town councillors at the beginning of last night’s full council meeting.

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, who is a personal friend of Cllr Elliott’s, also expressed his good wishes to him.