AMONG the celebrities and high-profile personalities honoured by the Queen, there are those local heroes who have dedicated their lives to making a difference.

It is always a joy to read about their often unheralded hard work in the county.

And when you do, it is clear they fully deserve their moment in the spotlight.

From food banks to basketball, the deeds of these men and women act as an inspiration for the rest of us.

The issue of food poverty has become more prevalent in the headlines as more and more people rely on food banks.

Robin Aitken and David Cairns, founders of Oxford Food Bank, were awarded MBEs for their work trying to tackle the issue.

They were not content to sit back and hope the Government or some other agency would solve what they saw was an inequity between the huge amount of food wasted and the number of people going hungry.

Instead, they decided to do something about it and five years’ later there are 100 volunteers helping run the charity.

Wantage’s June Keep is another who has dedicated herself to others, raising £120,000 over 35 years for kidney patients.

Personally affected, after her late husband had kidney disease, the 80-year-old has not tired in her fundraising activities.

Her eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren should be very proud.

Inspired by these heroes, we should all be motivated to try to help our fellow men a little more. Our hectic, busy lives should not excuse us from trying to make a difference and emulating those honoured.

Perhaps some of us might be honoured ourselves as a result.