ROTARY'S highest honour - a Rotary Fellowship - named after Paul Harris, its founder - has been awarded to two members of Crediton Rotary Club for outstanding service to the community.

Carole Webb, President of the club, presented the awards, which came as a complete surprise to both Sylvia Seage and Arthur Sharp.

Carole said she was particularly appreciative to Sylvia for her assistance during her (Carole's) year as president, saying that she was "always one of the first to volunteer for any duty."

Sylvia joined Rotary in the year 2000 and became president in 2008. Over the years she has been most active in the club, chairing major committees and receiving recognition in the form of the Four Avenues of Service award from the then president, Peter Bailey.

In recent times Sylvia has been responsible for pastoral care in the club. A "people person", she has also been active outside the club, taking care of neighbours when the need arises.

In the wide community Sylvia has been a parish councillor at Down St Mary and serves on the village hall committee, actively raising money for the complete refurbishment of the village hall.

Arthur Sharp received the award for service to the community over the many years since he was founder secretary of Saffron Waldon Round Table in Essex in 1956.

At that time he was active in forming two clubs, one for the disabled and the other for under privileged children and later went on to help raising funds for an iron lung for the local hospital.

Strangely, shortly after this he himself contracted polio, though thankfully he did not need to use the iron lung.

He later moved to Cheltenham and joined the local Round Table and was subsequently extension officer responsible for forming a Round Table at nearby Churchdown.

He followed this by then helping to found a second Rotary Club in the town, Cheltenham North.

His work took him to Hull and he became secretary of the mother club (there were several other clubs in the city) and was seconded to the League of Friends of Hull Royal Infirmary, becoming vice chairman.

He was also a member of the executive committee of the Hull and North Humberside Citizens' Advice Bureaux.

On moving to Exeter in 1981, Arthur joined Exeter Eastgate Rotary Club, later becoming president. He was later involved in the formation of a second club at Crediton, Crediton Boniface and is a past president of that club.

Shortly after his arrival in Devon he joined the League of Friends of the RD and E hospitals, where he is a trustee of the League, having served as chairman for 12 years.