AN international aid worker from Burnley has been given the MBE in the New Year's Honours.

Dr Chris Berry, 61, got the award for services to developing education in Sierra Leone.

The son of Dorothy and Frank, he was brought up in Colbran Street near Duke Berry and attended St John's Primary and St Theodore's High Schools.

After studying English literature at Lancaster University, he want to teach in Sierra Leone with Voluntary Service Overseas.

This started a lifetime of working abroad and he joined the Department for International Development in 2002 where he is now senior education adviser..

When Sierra Leone was hit by an outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in 2014, Dr Berry volunteered to return to the country and spent four years helping young people, especially girls, go to and stay in school.

Dr Berry, married to Nicki with three daughters and who now lives in Brighton said: "I was really touched. I was very pleased that the award recognised my work in Sierra Leone which is where it all started for me."

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, said: “I am delighted to see that Chris’s personal commitment to helping children, especially girls, in poor and conflict-affected countries get access to basic education has been recognised."