A Powys mountain rescue service say it's a "great honour" - after scooping a prestigious award for volunteer service.

Brecon Mountain Rescue Team(BMRT) has been named in the Queen’s Awards for Voluntary Service 2021, announced today (June 2).

The service, which is staffed entirely by volunteers and is funded by donations from the public, provides specialist search and rescue capabilities combined with emergency medical expertise to find and assist people who may be in danger, and covers an area spanning Brecon Beacons National Park to Welshpool. The team are also frequently called upon to assist other Mountain Rescue teams operating in South and West Wales.

Deputy Team Leader Mark Jones said the reward was a tribute to the commitment of both the members and the people who helped them to do their job.

"It's a great honour to have this recognition and we're really pleased," he said.

"It's obviously a great honour but it's also a great tribute to the members that put in so much time and effort on call-outs and training and also on the wider mountain rescue community - family, employers, all the people who allow us to leave work or leave home to go and do what we do.

"People tend to think that it's just about the commitment of the members but it's not at all, it's about the commitment of everybody in the system if you like, and people who aren't directly involved in mountain rescue who make the machine work."

The award is the highest award given to charitable organisations and is known as the "MBE of voluntary groups", with just 14 others in Wales named on a list of 241 organisations UK-wide.

Award winners are nominated by members of the public then passed for consideration by a local assessment panel before being put forward to a national committee who has the final say.

"I just think it's a really nice that people notice what we're doing behind the scenes quietly," added Mark.

"We're generally relatively low profile because the work we do is in remote areas so people don't generally realise we've been there - we were out last night and I'm sure nobody realised we were even out apart from the people we were rescuing, so we generally come and go unnoticed and it's nice to have this recognition.

"Thanks to whoever it is that's nominated us and thanks has got to go to the membership for the effort that they've put in to get the recognition in the first place.

"It's a team at the end of the day, it's not down to one or two people it's down to everyone's efforts that makes it work."

The award will be presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Powys, Mrs Tia Jones, in a local ceremony later this year.

"I am absolutely delighted that the BMRT has been awarded the QAVS," she said.

"In a year that has been like no other, we have all depended on the sterling work of our volunteers and I’m very pleased that Her Majesty The Queen has recognised the BMRT in their commitment to saving lives.

"I greatly look forward to presenting them with the award."