“They have dedicated their lives to assisting Shropshire people and on behalf of them I want to thank you very sincerely. You have never let us down when turning out to homes, rivers or car crashes. When we need help, you will be there,” said Algernon Heber-Percy.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Raymond said at the awards ceremony held last night at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn that the service had worked together to face challenging times. The Shropshire brigade was now smaller and had cut its budget by £4 million.

But jobs had been protected and fire stations kept open with the help of the people of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin who had “dug in their pockets” to give extra funding to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“We want to give the best possible service to our towns and villages, said Mr Raymond, who added that they could now do that with the extra funding.

Fire authority chairman Stuart West presented miniature medals to husbands, wives and partners and thanked them for their valuable support which was an important contribution to the brigade.

“The job of a firefighter is very hazardous. The job means that a firefighter runs towards an emergency when any sensible person is running in the opposite direction,” he said.

Receiving their Long Service and Good Conduct medals were Andy Johnson, Andy Perry, Paul Fulgoni, Louise Derricutt, and John Robinson, all from Shrewsbury. Gareth McClean, Darren Sands, Tony Talbot, and Adam Tempest, from Telford. Alan Walker, from Oswestry, and Christopher Morris and Martin Jones, from south Shropshire.