A MALDON community heroine who led the district's volunteer response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Sarah Troop, director of Maldon District Community Volunteer Service (CVS) has been given the honour in recognition of her work for the area's residents during the pandemic.

Maldon Nub News interviewed Sarah back in August and she told us then how more than 1,000 local residents had been helped by the volunteers during the crisis.

Perhaps most moving of all were her words at the time when she told Nub News: ""We really did all this just to make sure that nobody was left behind."

Since that time, Sarah has established weekly Covid-secure coffee mornings at the Town Hall for those trying to get back to life in the community and meet to chat with others again.

You can read our interview with Sarah again