HOUSE fires, factory fires, road accidents, plane crashes, animal rescues - Leominster firefighter Roger Hall has been to them all and more.

And now, after attending more than 4,500 incidents during his 29 years in the retained fire service, there can be few more deserving recipients of the MBE than the Leominster shop-owner who has been officer in charge at the town fire station for the last 17 years.

Fifty-one-year-old Roger, who was born and educated in Leominster, has attended many of the major incidents in the county during that time, including fires at Bircher Hall, Goldings store in Hereford and twice at the RAOC at Moreton-on-Lugg.

But his saddest and most enduring memory is of the huge fire at Sun Valley in Hereford which claimed the lives of two firefighters, one of whom was friend and Leominster colleague, John Davies.

Away from the fire service, Roger started work at Richards Furnishings in Leominster's Corn Street back in 1964 and took the shop over with his business partner, Ray Watkins, in 1972.

And usually to be found working alongside Roger in the shop is wife Rachel who, with their four children, Chris, Nicky, Matt and Edward, enjoyed a celebratory lunch last Sunday.

"I'm very proud, not just for myself but for the station and for the retained service as a whole," said Roger. "I'm looking forward to my next three years with the service and it will be a huge wrench when I have to retire."