THREE passionate and committed people from Crow country were among those in the Queen s Birthday Honours. Barbara Pointon, 66, of Thriplow, was awarded an MBE for service to people with dementia. Mrs Pointon s husband, Malcolm, 65, has Alzheimer s disease

THREE passionate and committed people from Crow country were among those in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Barbara Pointon, 66, of Thriplow, was awarded an MBE for service to people with dementia.

Mrs Pointon's husband, Malcolm, 65, has Alzheimer's disease and for the past 14 years she has been caring for him at home.

During the last year they have been involved with an advertising campaign showing the devastating impact of the disease and they have been featured in a documentary, Malcolm and Barbara: A Love Story.

Speaking from Vienna where she is attending the European Social Services conference, Mrs Pointon said she was "utterly surprised" to receive the award.

When the letter arrived in its official looking brown envelope she thought it was going to be a tax demand, but when she read the contents she said she could not describe her feelings.

"When I saw the letter my jaw just dropped and I still can't believe it now.

"This is being accepted for Malcolm as much as me," she said.

"It's to do with his suffering and my experience in dealing with it."

She said the need for campaigning for people with dementia had to continue.

"It's now the second largest killer, but the amount of money being spent is just 3 per cent out of the money being spent on other diseases," she said.

Through campaigning, Mrs Pointon has attempted to remove the stigma surrounding dementia.

She added that she believed she had been given the award for "standing up and whingeing".

Bert Burns, of The Dell, Royston, received an MBE for services to animal health.

For the past 40 years Mr Burns has been involved with animal health.

He has also been actively involved in the British farming industry with livestock, he was the director of Animal Medicines - a training regulatory authority, he worked on committees for the distribution of medicines and has been involved with agricultural societies.

Mr Burns said: "I'm delighted. It was unexpected and means a lot to me. It's a great honour to be recognised in the industry that you have worked in."

Barry Arnold, of Melbourn, received an OBE for service to the bus industry.

Mr Arnold, the managing director of Stagecoach, has been with the company for 12 years and has been head of the company's London business since 1997.

In August he plans to retire after 42 years in the industry.

He said: "I'm really pleased to have received such recognition. It came as a surprise. I have had more than 40 years' service in the bus industry, but I have been fortunate to have worked with a lot of very talented people.