Oxfordshire's top firefighter was honoured for his work by the Queen at Buckingham Palace today - but dedicated his gong to the men and women working under him.

Chief fire officer John Parry received a Queen's Fire Service Medal in recognition of his 29 years of service.

He was partly honoured for the way in which he co-ordinated the emergency response to last summer's flooding and his work on the chief fire officers' association, for which he was a director.

But in a typically-modest fashion, he said the medal was recognition for all the hard hours put in by each and every one of the county's firefighters.

Mr Parry, 52, said: "It's a combination of the standing of the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and everyone's hard work.

"I am genuinely honoured to be given a Queen's Fire Service Medal.

"I have enjoyed my career and never thought I would be a chief fire officer."

Mr Parry, who is married with two children, started his career as a firefighter in Merseyside in 1979 and went on to become station commander at Didcot.

He said: "The Queen asked about Oxfordshire and whether we had recovered from the flooding and congratulated me on my contribution to the fire service.

"I was concerned that I did everything correct, it was easy to be overwhelmed.

"It was very special to come before the Queen - and I'm very proud to have been part of the fire service for the past 29 years."