SWINDON’S police and crime commissioner has received an MBE for outstanding achievement and service to the community.

Angus Macpherson was presented with his MBE by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

The award recognised Mr Macpherson’s role as a former chairman of Threshold Housing Link and volunteer at the Filling Station, a charity which works to feed homeless people on the streets of Swindon.

In addition to his voluntary work as a magistrate, he also served as a borough councillor.

Mr Macpherson said: “It is a great honour to be recognised with this award and I feel very proud.

“I believe the award reflects the hard work and commitment of the many people who give up their time in Wiltshire and Swindon for the common good.

“I have in mind the band of volunteers who turn out in all weathers for the Filling Station, caring for some 50 or so men and women who are sleeping on our streets.

“Similarly, the men and women who dispense justice as magistrates in our courts.

“Most of all, I believe this honour reflects on the outstanding men and women of Wiltshire Police who help to keep us safe in their roles as police officers and police staff.”

Before becoming PCC, Mr Macpherson was a lead member of the old Wiltshire Police Authority for seven years from 2005 to 2012.

He was elected as the first police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon in November 2012 and re-elected in 2016.

In 2001 he became treasurer of Wiltshire Community Foundation and between 2006 and 2015 he was a trustee.

However, the award comes after calls this year for Mr Macpherson to resign following claims that the Wiltshire force is not doing enough to tackle Swindon’s crime problems.

In October, Labour councillor Chris Watts, who represents the Liden, Eldene and Park South wards, demanded Mr Macpherson stand down after Swindon Borough Council voted to write to the PCC, suggesting the police response to an increase in crime routinely falls short of what is expected.

And at a meeting in Haydon Wick in September, it was suggested that crime was so bad, and the police response so ineffective, that residents had considered forming their own “non-vigilante groups” to counter the regular appearance of hostile teenage gangs.

Councillor Phil Eagle asked Mr Macpherson: “Sir, do you ever wake up in the small hours and wonder if your job is a waste of time?”