Milkman Nigel Crocker has been made an MBE for his services to the community and his delighted customers say the honour couldn't have gone to a nicer person.

The 61-year-old was nominated for the tireless way he helps everyone he comes into contact with on his milk round in Broad Town, as well as his involvement in village life.

He's been getting up at 3am, six days a week for 38 years and has only ever taken 12 days off from his milk round the last one being back in 1988.

Mr Crocker, of Barbarry, Broad Town, said he was surprised and delighted by the honour.

He said: "When the letter came in November it was a complete surprise, and of course I have had to keep quiet about it for two months, but now the feeling is one of total euphoria.

"I try and do my bit in the village. It's really just trying to help people on my round. It might be helping old people with some shopping or delivering a paper, or paying a quick visit to people who have been ill. I just try to do what I can. It's more than just a milk round. I've been doing it for so long they're not only my customers but my friends."

He added: "I love Broad Town, I have lived here all my life and I was even born here, on my mother's kitchen table, and I intend to stay here for the rest of my life."

Mr Crocker delivers milk to 500 people in Broad Town and nearby Wootton Bassett, and has many fans.

They include Margaret Cowdy, whose 22-yearold son Peter was helped by Mr Crocker when he suffered a middle-of-the-night asthma attack.

Mrs Crowdy said: "Nigel really is a lovely man, always so cheerful and pleasant when you see him on his rounds.

"My son Peter was at home alone over New Year and he got the flu. One night his temperature soared and he was having difficulty breathing.

"I think he panicked a bit because he was all on his own and it was the middle of the night, but he said he was hallucinating when all of a sudden he saw the lights of the milk float coming.He staggered outside and said 'I feel terrible, please help me' to Nigel.

"Nigel was so good to him, he just got off his float and went inside with Peter, made him a cup of tea and got him some blankets and stayed with him until he had calmed down and his breathing was okay again. He was a real Good Samaritan to Peter that night and we are all very grateful.

"We are delighted about his MBE and I think it's nice that ordinary people who do what they can to help are recognised."

Mr Crocker will be notified later in the month about going to the palace to collect the MBE.

He said: "I'm very excited at the thought of meeting the Queen, I am a bit of a royalist and I think the royal family do a wonderful job.

"I have never met the Queen before and I have certainly never been to Buckingham Palace so I'm very much looking forward to that."

Self-employed Mr Crocker, who lives with his wife Ann and has two stepchildren, has always been involved in the local community, from being an enthusiastic member of the Wootton Bassett Young Farmers group back in the 1960s to getting involved in village life.

He is now a parish councillor and as the chairman of the village hall committee has helped organise the Broad Town village show for several years, which annually raises about £2,000 for the local church, school, playgroup and WI.

Broad Town resident Roy Davey, 69, said: "Like all villages there are a few people doing good and Nigel is one of them."

Jack Richardson, 36, the director of a furniture shop, said: "He's always doing stuff for the community. He's so busy I don't think he has a spare moment. And he always does it with a smile."