A FORMER fire chief was surprised with a lifetime achievement award by a fire service charity.

Chris Wannell, who retired in 1996 as station commander for Wootton Bassett, was handed the award by the Fire Fighters Charity in recognition of almost £100,000 raised for the cause.

Every year since 1976, Chris and his fellow crews have driven a restored fire engine topped with a Father Christmas model around the streets of north Wiltshire at Christmas to raise cash for needy firefighters and their families.

On Thursday, he travelled to London with wife Audrey and daughter Heather to the charity’s annual Spirit of Fire Awards. “I thought I was going on a jolly,” said Chris.

The lifetime achievement award came as a complete surprise: “I felt very emotional. They play a film before each award and as soon as it started it showed the back wheel of the engine I knew it was mine.

“I could have cried at that point. I don’t do it to get awards. I do it because I love the vehicle and I love what we do. I have seen the work the Fire Fighters’ Charity does and I am a big believer.”

For Chris, it all began in 1966: “Years ago, when I was a full-time fireman in Swindon I was part of a team that put a trailer together, with what looked like a church and we had a nativity scene inside it. We towed it behind the brigade Land Rover.”

That project came back to Chris when almost a decade later he bought a vintage 1943 Austin turntable fire engine. Restoring it with the help of Wootton Bassett crewmates, they then took it around the streets of Swindon.

Chris said: “Everywhere we go it’s really well received. A lot of people say it’s not Christmas until we come.”

He estimates the rides have raised between £80,000 and £90,000 for the Fire Fighters Charity.

Dr Jill Tolfrey, chief executive of the charity, said: “Chris’s award is thoroughly deserved, he has dedicated almost 60 years to supporting The Fire Fighters Charity. While in service he organised numerous fundraising events and over the decades he has used his collection of vintage fire engines – especially his 1943 turntable ladder appliance, which is the same age as the charity itself – to raise money at fairs, vintage rallies, carnivals and countless other events.

“However, the majority of Chris’s work for the charity actually goes unseen as he has helped so many others through home visits and assisting with service applications over the years. A truly selfless individual, Chris has the charity at his heart and is utterly deserving of this special reward.”

Speaking in a video featuring colleagues, friends and family reflecting on Chris’s achievements, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Ben Ansell, said: “The scale of Chris’s achievements are almost unquantifiable in terms of the hard work that he has put in and the direct benefit that has resulted in for the beneficiaries of The Fire Fighters Charity.”

The vintage engine is currently in need of some repair, with Chris saying Crickalde fire station chief Pete Price has offered to replace its aging engine. However, it is hoped the engine will be ready to appear at the South Cerney steam rally in August.