SURROUNDED by her family and friends, Marilyn Dovey, last Thursday was presented with her MBE by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire.

The award recognised a life-time of service to young people in Salisbury and south Wiltshire.

Because of Ms Dovey's ill health, the ceremony took place at the Bishop of Salisbury's home in the South Canonry, rather than at Buckingham Palace.

But the venue was perfect for Ms Dovey, for it meant that, instead of being accompanied by just three people, the ceremony was watched by four generations of her family and friends from The Friary, where she lives.

Among them were her father, Cyril Dovey (80), and her youngest grandchild, four-month-old Andrew.

Presenting her with the MBE, Lord Lieutenant John Bush said he was representing the Queen and was presenting a national award that recognised Ms Dovey's "singular, sustained and continuous service over many years, for the benefit of the community in Salisbury".

He said: "Those who know her also know how thoroughly well-deserved this award is."

The citation said Ms Dovey's "outstanding work as a voluntary youth leader" began in 1978, when she took on the Upavon youth club, as well as running the Netheravon youth club.

She encouraged participation in sporting and dancing competitions and her teams received awards at county and regional level.

Ms Dovey completed her stage 2 youth leadership qualification and then became involved with the Wiltshire Boys and Youth Club, which later became Youth Action Wiltshire, and became a voluntary field officer.

In 1980, she became a joint executive committee member and in 1986 was the first woman chairman of the club and vice-chairman of Youth Action Wiltshire.

Ms Dovey came to Salisbury in 2000 and joined the Friary Tenants' Association committee, setting up a youth club in a bid to tackle vandalism and bad behaviour.

Since the TGI Friary Youth Club started, it has gone from strength to strength, the youth crime rate has dropped and vandalism has reduced significantly.

The citation said of Ms Dovey: "She has shown, and continues to show, incredible commitment and dedication to the local people of Salisbury and their families."